Dark League
by sparkleshadowcat
Summary: In New York, Ray is a student from China dreaming about a scholarship in gymnastic. What happen as his dream turns into a nightmare when he comes in contact with the city s criminal underworld? YAOI Kai/Ray maybe others. Warnings inside!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there, this is my new story! Beyblade ****characters in AU-fic in New York. Let see if it turn out good. **

**BETA: ****SouthernDragon**

**Rating:**** M**

**Warning:**** Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **

**Paring:**** Kai/Ray. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer****:**** Don´t own the characters in this story, only the plot. **

"**Talking"**

**`Thinking´**

**AN: Here we go again: "On with the story…action!" **

_How do you tell a good story? Well, for starte__rs you use most of your imagination and tell it with such empathy that makes people want to listen to you. But what if the story wasn´t just any story? What if it actually happened? Then maybe it isn´t a good story anymore. Then people might just think it´s sad that one teen have been through such hard times. _

_Well, you might as well get to know one of the main characters in this story, my name is Ray. And six months ago, I was just a normal school teen with some acrobatic skills. I attended school, I had some good friends and I didn´t think much of the future. I had a normal life; and I'm not telling you this to make it seem like a Spider-man movie. There are no supernatural powers in here. But I'm honest when I say my life will never be the same again. Why? Because I died. _

_I kn__ow that's hard to believe since I'm telling you this story, but it's true. I lost my life. I lost my identity. _

_I __remember it very well... _

_

* * *

_In a private school not far from Central Park, New York, the bell rang. The students in black and red uniforms acknowledged it and entered the big castle-looking building´s main doors. The large and shiny windows, next to the big doors, was the gym building. In there you could see some students were working hard in their gymnastic field.

"Yo, Ray. Why don´t you take a break?" A blonde kid with blue eyes called out as he was watching the newest student jump on the big trampoline.

"Yeah in a second." He said and made a back flip and landed gracefully on his feet with a grin. "I think I'm getting the hang of it now."

"It didn´t take you long." He said as the raven haired boy jumped down on the floor with a new flip. He gave him a bottle of water that he gratefully took. They sat down near the field where students were jumping over the wooden buck.

"Ray, I´ve been wanting to ask you; is New York different from China?" The blonde asked.

"Very; I'm not used to a civilization like this. But I think I have gotten to know this city pretty good during my stay." He said and took a sip of his water. They looked up as another teen that came running towards the buck and was going to vault over it but lost his balance and fell down on the red carpet flat on his face.

"Tyson!" They yelled and rushed forward to their groaning friend. "Are you alright?"

"I hate gym…" He muttered as the blonde helped him up. "I'm okay, Max." He said and tried to grin before turning to the other. He was wearing the school's gym class uniform like everyone else with black pants and a red T-shirt. On his head he was wearing a red baseball cap which was his own but it did go well with the rest of the uniform.

"You have to teach me some tricks, Ray. I have never seen such a lithe person like you." He said quickly, changing the subject. He knew that most of the people in the hall had seen his fall so he did what he could to save his dignity from his friends.

But the raven teen did not like the typical attention. It was always the same lines and compliments that were thrown at him since he arrived at the school. He knew he was quite good in gymnastic but not as good as they claimed him to be. It had made him more and more embarrassed by each comment given to him.

"C´mon, not you too. I'm nothing special." He said as they were starting to walk out after the teacher's whistle. The gym had been the last lesson for the day.

"You aren't?" Tyson said with a shaking head. "I have never seen anyone better in this field than you. The few things you didn´t know when you arrived you learned in record time!"

"Tyson that is enough, Ray has told you to go easy on those comments." Max said and put his arm around his friend.

"That´s right, Ty, don´t jinx me." The raven agreed with a smile.

"Oh, you mean your scholarship right? Don´t worry I'm sure the principal will give it to you!"

"Tyson!" both Max and Ray said together, making the teen to hush.

The three friends went their separate ways outside of school after waving each other off. The raven haired teen was walking down the side walk, enjoying the nice weather. He was carrying a black bag over his shoulder and his hands were in his jeans pocket in a casual way.

His very long black hair was swaying slightly by his walking movements as it was tied with a simple, orange, hair band. The same material was wrapped around his forehead to keep his bangs from getting in his golden eyes. A tight orange jacket that matched his hair bands was hanging open to reveal a black t-shirt and a golden necklace underneath. The jacket had Chinese signs going down on the sides of his arms and with black baggy jeans.

He would look rather casual on the street if it were not for his foreign appearance. Even for a Chinese teen he had a very special look that was appealing for many others he had come across. Not that he had been interested in relationships of any kind.

He didn´t come all the way from China to find a suitable girl…

He had only been in town for about six months and he was really glad to be there. New York had such possibilities for him since he wanted to compete in gymnastics one day. And his first goal was to get the school´s scholarship. If he didn´t get that he would have to go back to China because he didn´t have the money to pay otherwise.

It was only one day more before he would get the answer from the principal.

He turned into the park to take the quickest way home to his apartment but to also take in the nice view of Central Park.

* * *

**(In a not so nice**** part of town)**

The door to the cheap motel flew open and the temporarily couple was stumbling inside. A bald-headed and overweight man in a grey striped business suit was laughing in his drunken state while supporting on another slim figure.

"Why did you suggest this slum hole?" He said as he took a full mouth of his green half full bottle, the rest just dropped from his cheek.

"Let's just say I'm not used to the fancy hotels down town, not in my profession." The boy said and let go of the arm. He was wearing a pair of black shorts that was showing most of his legs, and a see through shirt with a small jacket over it that ended above his pierced navel. "But you shouldn´t worry about that because I'm going to take good care of you." He said and pushed the older man on the bed with green sheets before he straddled him.

"You have to make it quick; I have a meeting with the boss in 45 minutes." He said as the redhead was making him to let go of his briefcase on the floor.

"Yes sir."

Ice blue eyes scanned the chest as he was slowly unbuttoning his customer's shirt. The eyes of the man were looking over his slim body as his hands had started to wander. As the shirt was opened the man yanked the younger boy down suddenly and crashed their lips together in a bruising kiss while rolling over. The redhead was almost crushed by the other's weight.

He gripped the neck of the man and pulled his face back and smiled at him with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Want to make this little meeting a little more interesting?" He murmured before he leaned up and started to kiss the man's neck instead.

"What do you mean?" the older asked with closed eyes as leaned into the touch with an approving sigh.

"I have some chains in the bathroom. I'll let you tie me up..." Black eyes flew up at the suggestion.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Go and get them and I'll get ready for you…" He said as he kissed him again. The man kissed back more intensely before leaving the bed. The boy pointed to the other door to the left which the man fallowed but stopped suddenly and turned to his paid ´entertainer´.

"You're not leaving are you?" He asked suspiciously.

"Why would you think that?" The redhead said and slowly started to unbutton his shorts in a tease. "Weren´t you in a hurry?" He asked confidently with a wink.

The man quickly let his questions go and rushed into the other small space.

The smile fell from the teens lip like you turn of a lamp and he quickly took out a small device from his boot. "Kai, you'd better be having a packet of strong chewing gum for me after this or else I will throw up on you." He whispered.

"_Yeah, yeah__ just get on with the plan so you can get out of there." _He could hear from the hidden transmitter in his ear.

"Gorgeous, I can´t find any chains!" Was heard from the bathroom.

"In the cabinet." He was really hoping the chains were there or his plan would fail.

He picked up the black briefcase from the floor and put his device on it under the handle where it couldn´t be seen. He had just time enough to get back on the bed as his temporary partner came back out with a victorious grin as he was showing up the chains.

"Found them!"

The redhead grinned back. "Perfect."

Outside a grey van was parked in a dirty ally. A rubin stare was scanning the monitor as the owner was listening through his headset.

"Go." He said calmly and took a sip of his coffee as the door to the van closed on his left side.

"Do you have any idea how dirty things I'm going to do to you?" The man whispered seductively as he tightened the chain around his victim's wrists.

"Nah. Tell me." The read head hissed as he was violently pushed down on the bed, face first and the man was greedily starting to pull at his shirt. "Hey, take it easy!" He tried to call out and felt the air go right out from him as the man lay on top of him again.

"Don't think so, you take charge by the hour." He said and bit down in the teen's neck and stroked his partner's waist while yanked at his pants.

Suddenly a loud bang ruined the moment and the wooden door was cracking slightly by the harsh treatment. "Bitch open up, I know you are in there!"

"That´s my boss." The redhead said as he turned his head to the side and gasped as his costumer caught his lips once more.

"Let him knock. He will leave soon." He whispered and was working on his own belt buckle as the door was slammed open even making a crack in the wall. In came a silver haired guy, wearing jeans, a black shirt and an old leather jacket. His eyes were cold as ice.

"I knew I would find you here you fucking whore! Why didn't you report in after your last job to the boss as you were supposed to?"

"I'm still working boss." The redhead said and was motioned to the man on top of him who was looking angrily at him for the scene they were making.

"I don´t give a shit! You're coming with me right now." He said and approached them.

"Who the hell are you? Hey!" The older man cursed when he was pushed down onto the floor face first as the silver haired pimp was grabbing his subordinate in the chain and pulled him from the bed against his protests.

"Come here you filthy shit. You have some explaining to do, and you also owe me for making me come all the way out here to get you."

"I'm sorry." The teen yelled out as the pissed off pimp slapped him hard over the cheek, making it as red as his hair.

"You're sorry? Not as sorry as you going to be as we get back to the club. Now shut the fuck up before I knock you out." He growled and grabbed the other's neck while dragging him towards the door.

"I said wait a minute!" The businessman yelled before going pale as a sheet. The pimp pointed a gun to his head with a calm expression.

"Did I even speak to you?"

"I have no intensions to interfere in your work, but your whore there has already charged me for two hours."

The lilac stare last for a second before he let go of the prostitute who did not move from his spot. His hand fell to his pocket and dug out a bundle of bills and threw them in the man's face. "There. Sorry for this little messed up meeting." He said and continued to pull the redhead by his hair violently out into the hall.

A puff of smoke was blown out on the screen before him as he was waiting for a map of the city to come up on it. His blue bangs were slightly falling over his rubin eyes and soon he could hear harsh voices from outside.

"Three, two, one." He said with a sigh and right on cue the door flew open and his two companions came inside.

"Oh just shut the fuck up, you are so annoying." The first one said.

"You can shut the fuck up, you sick freak." The redhead answered back as he was struggling against the chain around his wrists. It felt like his hands were going to turn blue. "I'm so sick of this crap with perverted assholes; help me get out of these would ya?"

His comrade took off his leather jacket and sat down by the steering wheel. "If you have succeeded in getting them on then you can get out of them too."

The redhead glared at him and walked towards the front of the van to give the other a piece of his mind and much more too when the he saw movement in the corner of his eye.

"Thank you Kai…" He said as the rubin eyed leader brought forward a sword and cut the chain in half in the small space between his hands; making the metallic bondage fall to the floor with a cling-sound. Unaffected that he just could have lost his hands if not the skill had been precise; he massaged his wrists.

"Bryan, is the target moving yet?" Kai asked as he put away his sword under his seat.

"Not yet." Bryan said with a little more concentration. "According to our data, if we go with our little undercover whore´s information, then he should go back to his boss's hideout soon."

"Sounds good. Be ready to head out."

Bryan made a grunt in response as he lit a cigarette and took a deep breath as he leaned back in his seat. With closed eyes he felt a presence beside him and a voice whispered in his ear.

"Just so we are clear. I don't care if it is on a mission or not; if you ever hit me again like that you will have to look for some new balls." The voice was calm, but with a hint that would made a normal person to shiver into the bone. The silver haired driver had memories of that voice so he didn't put much attention to the words, just the sound.

The redhead knew he wouldn't get an answer, but with experience he figured the other had taken in the threat at some crazy level. He leaned back and looked at his comrade for a second before making his way over to his leader to sit beside him.

"Okay, he is on the move. Bryan keep a good distance behind him. We don´t want him to get suspicious." Kai said ignoring the fact that his comrades were threatening each other's lives again. He would never expect them to get along these days.

"Yes Captain." The silver haired member of the team murmured with heavy irony. Like he couldn´t figure that out. It had been a very long day.

With a heavy atmosphere the van rolled out from the ally and was heading out on the crowded street of New York's ghetto block.

**TBC.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, chapter two is out! Enjoy!**

**BETA:****SouthernDragon**

**Rating:**** M**

**Warning:**** Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **

**Paring:**** Kai/Ray. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer****:**** Don´t own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. ^^**

"**Talking"**

**`Thinking´**

**AN: "Chapter two…action!" **

The metallic gate outside the warehouse was closed after the man entered. A minute later the grey van was coming to a halt behind the next building. The hidden satellite in the side mirrors was on and took up all the voices from the block.

Kai leaned back in his chair, ignoring his teammates who moved around in the vehicle. His eyes got sharper as he was listening at the voice of the man they had fallowed.

"_Do you have the papers?" _

"_Yes, the boss also sends his regards." _

"_Damnit you stink. What if I would have told your boss that doing business with a drunken representative is not very flattering?" _

"_C´mon give me a break, I´ve had a rough day..." _

Kai snorted at the comment but kept listening.

Inside the man was standing by a simple table and was facing his boss client. A man with black beard and was wearing a dark jeans jacket and black pants. He was surrounded by four well build men. This man was known for owning the harbor in the underworld. Everything that was coming in and out the city from the water way was going through him.

The briefcase the man had with him lay on the table in front of them. "So? Do we have a deal?"

"During the circumstances, we do."

"_Great, then I will be on my way." _

'Damn, this is not helping us.' He thought about it for a moment and grew impatient. "Fuck this. We taking him out." He said and got up from his seat. After stretching his shoulders he pulled out two shiny swords under the seat again and turned to his teammates. "Ready?"

A whip of black leather was stretched by hands covered by black fabric and a scythe was moving in a circle before stopping by the owner's hand.

He had gotten his answer.

The chubby man sighed in relief. He was glad that he had completed the deal without trouble. Now the boss was going to treat him with a slight of respect when he got back with the good news.

"We´ll keep in touch."

He was just going to leave when the big door was being open. Three shadows in the moonlight met him and he only had time to gasp before he was met with a fist in the face, making him stumble back to keep his balance. His noise was colored in crimson and when he realized that it was broken he screamed out in pain as a late reaction.

The client was also surprised where he stood but out of a reflex he sent out his men to fight the intruders. He didn´t care if they were after the other man or not. He did not accept other people on his territory.

The first man screamed in pain and dropped the bat he was using as a scythe sliced a thin wound across his stomach and chest. He fell to the floor and shielded his wound in fright.

The fallen mans comrade was going to shot the silver haired intruder but a whip caught his wrist and with a yank he was forced around before meeting with a boot in his face, making him see darkness.

The remaining two guards attacked the third intruder who stood his ground. By raising his two Katanas he easily defeated them without giving them fatal wounds. He didn´t bother the effort.

The man who was crying on the floor and was holding his nose cried out even more as the blue eyed intruder brought his foot down on the others chest with a smirk. "Missed me?"

"Y-You? Wha-t in t-he h-h-ell!" he said with a scared face.

"Are you really that surprised? Maybe this teaches you that taking advantage of underage boy´s sexually is probably not a good idea… Besides, I have better taste than that. " The redhead said, but when a comment from behind was heard with something like; could have fooled me he threw out his right arm and whipped his comrade over the arm.

"Fuck! You psycho, I dare you to do that again!" Was the protest but he only answered with his middle finger, making the leader of the group to step in as always.

"Enough." He said in a calm voice because he knew they would listen. His redhead comrade stepped back as he approached the man on the floor who was shaking slightly. Probably by pain.

"Who are y-you p-people? W-why d-d-id you fallow me!" he sobbed.

"It wouldn´t have to be like this if you just had gone to your boss like you said you would." The leader said as he lighted his cigarette in a calm manner. His comrades stayed behind him.

"I didn´t thin-k it would m-matter what I said to a whore! I ca-cant g-give you the i-information!"

The redhead glared for the comment about him but kept quiet and looked over to his silver haired comrade who kicked one of the men who was about to wake up.

"Oh, but you will. And you will do it fast." With a katana against his throat, the man sang like a bird.

"I was just doing business here for him! He wants this harbor for his plans! I'm going to meet him tomorrow night!" he yelled as the blade pressed even harder on his skin.

"Where?"

"Oh, please! I c-ant!"

"Three...two..."

"In an empty warehouse! You know the one that used to be a car garage by the subway, nearest Central Park!"

"I know where it is." Kai said and threw his cigarette aside. His expression changed and he looked like he was thinking about something before he sighed and looked back at the man.

"Thanks."

"W-what do y-you want me to s-ay to h-him?" he asked as the leader took a step back from him.

"Nothing." He said, and with a fast movement the Katana was brought down and slit the screaming mans throat. Blood splashed from the wound on the leader's legs but he didn´t noticed. "Because you not going to the meeting." he said and turned to his comrades as the man fell to the ground motionless.

"But we are. We have a new lead." He said and turned to the remaining man that was on his knees in fright. The looks from Bryan and Tala had made him paralyzed.

"Who are you people?" he asked.

"I'm not going to tell who I am, but I'm going to tell you what you just did. He was a burden and you put out his light. End of story. Don´t make me come after you if you tell someone otherwise. It would be such a drag." He said as he swung his sword to the side to get rid of the crimson stains.

The client could just nod and watched the three intruders to leave his building just as calm as they had entered.

"Kai. Is it okay to let him live? What if he describes us to that boss?" Tala said while he collected his whip in his hands as they were walking back to the vehicle.

"Yes. He won´t talk now when he saw what happened to the other. Besides, it would have caused much more trouble if we had of killed him. He has a big group under his command, and he always stays in line." Was the answer as he turned to Bryan. "We have some preparations for tomorrow. You know what to do."

"Yeah Yeah."

The night kept going like nothing happened.

* * *

The sun rose through the open window. The white curtains swayed by the wind next to the single bed. Golden eyes slowly opened and the owner groaned in protest of the light. He changed position in his bed and hugged his pillow while looking at his clock with one eye open.

"7:15?" he murmured to himself, before his eyes widened. "Shit!" he screamed as he noticed that he had forgotten to set the time. He quickly got out from the cozy bed and hurried to clean himself up.

"Stupid, stupid, Stupid!" he yelled to himself as he put on his black uniform in a hurry and left his apartment. He felt like he was flying down the stairs before leaving the big building with his highest speed.

Today was an important day for him, and he couldn´t be late for his class. It could jeopardize his good reputation as a student. The world seemed to be still as he run past many people both in the park and in the street.

His body was protesting as he finally reached his destination with heavy pants. His heart was pounding his chest and he was happy that he had skipped breakfast. After taking in some much needed breath he fixed his posture and with a poker face he entered the school doors to get to his first lesson before his meeting.

Golden eyes were scanning the white clock on the wall. He couldn´t concentrate on his lesson when it only was 10 minutes left before he was going to find out his future. He couldn´t help but to feel slightly insecure. This was not an easy scholarship to get. Only one brilliant student that showed most potential in the subject would get the opportunity to even get close to it. He admitted that he was good enough to be on the top three but was he really qualified to get it? His thoughts came to his grades. He had good grades and not many notes for been sleeping in late. Not one mark on bad behavior...but was that enough?

A pat on his shoulder woke him up from his thoughts and he turned to see a grinning Tyson.

"Worried Ray?"

"I guess."

"Don´t be! You are the best gymnast in this school." Max said not to loud to get caught by the teacher. "If you don´t get it, then they are crazy."

Ray smiled at his friends. Right now he needed their support. "Thanks guys."

Right on cue the bell rang and the lesson was ending.

"Take a seat Mr. Kon."

The raven haired student obeyed carefully and watched the older man walking back and forward behind his brown desk. The office was well decorated with an old and more sophisticated taste. All furniture was in varnish brown wood: a couch with blue cushions, the desk, and all the shelves. Thick books in many colors were filling the biggest one. In the room was a big dark green carpet that was so soft, it was an awkward feeling to walk on it. Two big shiny windows gave the principal a good view on the schoolyard. The man himself was tall and proud looking. Not the type the kids would ask to play with them. He had that kind of face, saying he was better than everyone else and that they should know that. With a dark suit with the school logo in it, his grey hair in a rich hair cut, and a big mustache under his big nose, he made Ray very nervous.

"I have to admit, Mr. Kon. The school noticed your talent very early so it would be a lie not to tell you that we have seen your progress during this six month."

"Thank you sir."

The man took a seat by his desk and closed his hands together on the blank surface. "You are very gifted and should never stop with what you are doing. Not only that, you have also been a very good student. You grades shows that you are a hard worker and that is exactly what we a looking for in a student who applies for a gymnastic scholarship."

"Thank you sir. I have been working really hard. Just coming to New York was a big step for me, but since I arrived, I felt very earlier that this was the place where I wanted to be." The raven said as he remembered the words Tyson had told him about sitting straight on the chair. The principal was very picky with that kind of stuff. He thought it showed that you were prophet raised.

"That was very nice to hear. May I ask, what is your background in gymnastic? Who is your former trainer?" he asked as he leaned back in his seat to hear the story.

"Well, to be honest, I have never been trained. I learn it myself back home in my village in China. I have always been good on it so when I got the chance to prove myself in New York, I couldn´t pass the opportunity down. My dream is to compete in the schools name."

The man smiled as he listened. Something Ray never had seen him do before. He couldn´t help but to feel that this was going very well. Could it really be happening? He felt his fingers tense of excitement.

"I have to say I'm very impressed that you have learned everything by yourself, it is really an achievement. It would certainly be in the Schools best interest to have you in the Gymnastic team. Your gym teacher has put in very good words for you."

"Thank your Sir! It would be an honor to be in the team."

"Which is just the reason it hurts me to decline your scholarship."

Ray felt his heart sank and his body to freeze. It was like a slap in the face. It showed on his body language as his posture sank a little but mostly on his shocked expression. "W-wha...?"

"I'm very sorry. You were a good candidate, but unfortunately it wasn´t enough. But I thank you for your interest." Just like that, it seemed like the man didn't have much to say about the matter as he took forward a pile of document to start with. Ray sat there just staring at him as he wrote something on the first two of them, when he dared to say something.

"Sir, may I ask what I did wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong. You should be proud of yourself." The man said without looking up.

That just sound contradictory, your prick.

"Then what? Why don´t I get the Scholarship?" He knew he got the other´s attention as the pencil stopped. But was it a good sign?

"Mr. Kon, I don´t think it´s proper to have this discussion." It was a serious warning. A typical over class attitude he had gotten to know. It was not proper to talk back to a grown up, it was not proper to whine about something either. It was not proper behavior...

Defeated he got up from the chair. His legs felt like they were asleep. He had made it halfway to the door when it struck him that this was not a proper behavior from the principle himself. What had he to lose? For once he could finally speak his mind, since he arrived to this school.

"With all due respect sir. If I was that good of a candidate, then think I deserve to know the reason why you turn me down." He said and turned around. You could hear a needle fall after the statement. Once again the pencil stopped and this time the older man even put it down and looked at him with stern eyes.

"You think so? Mr. Kon..."

"Please sir, skip the formalities. Call me Ray. I just want to know why."

"Formalities are always in order Mr. Kon." The principal said firmly and sighed. "Even though you were a good candidate you were not the only one."

"I was the best one in my class. Didn´t know other classes where into the same field."

"There are also other things that are counting in the selection." The man put down his glasses. He was feeling a headache coming. It was an obvious that this student didn´t come from the ordinary homes that attended in this school. He was a little too rude.

"Mr. Kon. This school has many families in generations. We have a very high standard that has to be maintained. Not many students get the chance on this kind of Scholarships because this in particular is one of them that we usually hold on to until a special talent come along. Like I said to you before, we were very impressed by you in every as we took the decision we had to compare you to the other possibilities as well."

As the light hit Ray he felt even more bitter than he had done before. Right now he wished that he had never asked.

"I understand..." he mumbled.

"I'm glad you do." The man said satisfied.

"So when is this rich kid taking my place?"

"Mr. Kon!"

"Well, it's true! You turned me down not because my lack of skill but of the reason I'm from a little village in China! If I had been from a wealthy block nearby you had been very happy to let me into this school."

"Your disappointment is understandable Mr. Kon, but don´t say things you don´t mean. It is not polite."

"Just answer my last question and then I leave. Which class is this person in?"

The principal glared and looked out the window before he cleared his throat. "If you find any satisfaction by that information, I will tell you. He will arrive in September."

Ray had to laugh out in irony. How could he have been so stupid? All the signs had been there! He knew he didn´t fit in to this over class, but he had ignored that because he had just thought he had been accepted for his talent.

"He is not even old enough to go in this school..." He said with a smile. Now he understood. "Well...I hope he will make this school proud when he arrives." He said and moved to the door and turned the doorknob.

"Even though the spot on the gymnastic team were already taken, I thank you for your time Sir. For a poor boy from China it is a big deal. I will be leaving with a plane in the end of this week."

"I'm sorry it turned out this way." He man said and it was almost like he meant it. Almost.

"Me too only thing I don´t understand with this is that; in the papers it said that the person who would get the Scholarship, would have to work hard with his talent in the schools name...If I had know that the talent you were looking for was to be rich, then I wouldn´t have wasted your time." With that he left the office with a stunned principal.

* * *

Tyson and Max rushed forward with happy faces but got shocked as they saw his sad expression. After a while when they sat on a bench on the schoolyard he told them what happened.

"I can´t believe this... Max said. "Are you leaving us now?"

"I have to. I can´t afford to go here anymore."

The blonde looked like a sad little puppy when he suddenly got an idea. "But Ray! We can help you with that..."

"No!" he called out making both of them to jump. Either of the two of them heard Ray yell before. He was always calm and collected.

He felt bad for the outburst, he knew that they would be more than happy to pay for his school but it was not an option. Not just because he was too proud, but that he also didn´t see the school in the same way as before. Not that he was going to tell them that. Leaving Tyson and Max was the only thing he felt sorry for.

"Sorry guys, but I can´t take your money. If I don´t get the scholarship then I don´t belong here." With a sigh he got up from the bench. "I have to go, see you tomorrow."

He left his friends there and was going into the hall when an arm suddenly blocked his path. By pure instinct he jumped back and watched the stranger´s arm with caution.

"Giving up so easily?" Was a comment from around the corner?

"What?" he asked with a frown when the person showed himself.

"A scholarship isn´t the only way to stay in this town." The stranger said with a confident smirk.

"Who are you?"

**TBC. **


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3. **

**Hello, chapter three is out! Enjoy!**

**BETA: **Bonnie-San

**Rating: M**

**Warning: Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **

**Paring: Kai/Ray. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer: Don´t own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. ^^**

"**Talking"**

**`Thinking´**

**AN: "Chapter Three…action!" **

"Who are you?"

"If you want help with your school problem, then come with me." Was the only thing the stranger said before he walked away.

Ray eyed the stranger´s back as Tyson and Max came up behind him. "Who was that?" The blonde asked.

"Don´t know. I have never seen him before. Have you?" he turned to Tyson who just shook his head. "No, but he is wearing our uniform so he must attend in this school..."

Ray thought about it for a moment. He couldn´t help but to be curious about what the other ment. "I´ll catch up with you guys later."

He walked for a minute when he entered the yard and scanned the area. Just when he thought he had lost the stranger and was going to walk back inside he spotted him in a more secluded area. He was sitting by a small table for two with a light green parasol stuck in the table. It was a resting spot for the students between the classes. Very overclass.

"Sit down." The stranger said as he approached him. He did.

"I´m sorry for all the mystery. I just wanted to talk with you alone. My name is Brooklyn." He said and offered his hand to Ray. "Ray." The raven answered and shook it.

"Ok Ray. You see, I couldn´t help but to overhear about you situation..."

"My situation?"

"With the school. You see... I know the school is only interested in the kids with rich parents. It was the same with my big brother. He had to quit too."

The story was interesting but he couldn´t figure out why the stranger wanted to talk with him about it. He had never seen him before even though he had been there for six months. And he knew he would have recognized this guy.

As Tyson had mention he had the same black and red uniform as his. He had very light red, more like orange, hair. Light blue eyes, and a scarily calm expression. His stare was kind but it was something more to it. He was taller than Ray too.

"You are probably wondering why I´m telling you this. But the thing is, if it really is that bad for you, then I can help."

"I'm sorry, but I have to go back home because of this. I´m not allowed to stay in the country if Im not attending in this school. Thanks for the offered help but I don´t think there is anything you can do."

"Yes there is. As a matter of fact, I have the perfect solution." He said as he leaned forward to whisper. "You see Ray, even if you quit going to school here, you can still stay."

Ray got a suspicious expression.

"Illegally?"

"Well, I don´t like that word..." Brooklyn said with a snicker as he lightened a cigarette. Ray frowned at the sight and reached his hand up to cover his nose. He hated that kind of things. It was a bad smell to his senses. The other noticed that. "You don't want one?"

"No thanks, my sensitive sense of smell does not cope with that kind of stuff."

"Hm, fine by me.." The raven actually got surprised that he put it out.

"The reason why I´m telling you this is that if you do stay, then you still can look for someone who will acknowledge your talent. And you are not going to be chased down if you have a new Green card, and that´s where I come in."

"A new Green card? Like a new ID?"

"Yes, if you have that, then you don´t have to worry about a thing." He said with a smile, but Ray wasn´t so sure.

"And you would gladly fix that for me? A complete stranger. Why?"

"I knew you would ask. For startes I take 50 bucks for it. And then...well this is New York Ray. If I scratch your back then you scratch mine.

"Why would you scratch my back?" Ray asked, not familiar with the saying. It sounded weird to him.

"It means most of the time; I do you a favor and then you return it when I need it. See us as friends, what do you say?"

He couldn´t believe this. After all shit he went through this afternoon. He thought his life in New York was over and now this. But could his problems really be solved by something that simple as a fake ID? The thought of breaking the law in New York and go to jail made him very uncomfortable because it could ruin his life. But at the same time, it would really be great if it did work. Maybe he just could try it out for a month or something to give himself the chance to find someone that could help him with his gymnastics. He looked at his options, he could get the ID and risk jail, or he could go back home to his village and forget about his dreams all together.

A small cough pulled him out from his thoughts. "Hey man, my offer don´t stand all day you know." The redhead said with a mysterious smile.

As excitment got the best of him, he could only smile back. "Fine."

* * *

"Was that clock always that loud?" Ray asked himself as he was sitting on his bed. He was supposed to meet up with Brooklyn in fifteen minutes. He was having second thoughts. After their little chat he had felt very good and relieved. But as time was ticking by…

He wasn´t sure if he could do this. Be a criminal. He had never done anything like that before. Well… he didn´t call the police when he was hanging out in Tysons place while his friend was downloading a couple thousands songs from the internet. But this was different.

He wanted to do this to stay in New York, but he didn´t want to risk getting caught by the police. Just the thought of taking that kind of risk scared him. He didn´t want to do this.

But his golden eyes glanced at a heap of letters from his villages. His friends and foster parents was telling him in Chinese how proud they where of him.

"I can´t back out now." He said and left the bed to put on his shoes. A moment later he took his jacket from the hanger and left his apartment.

* * *

The cold wind was pulling at him in every crossing and he glanced up at the sky that was full of black clouds. The traffic was heavy and strict as he walked down the street to the meeting point. He could already feel like somebody was staring at him, knowing that he was about to do something stupid. If a cop car would be driving by right now, he would probably run back home to his appartment and hide under the bed.

"I can´t believe I´m doing this." He said and stopped. He wanted to go back… he really did.

He let out a sigh as he kept on walking. Not matter how big his fear was, his dream was bigger. And besides, Brooklyn seemed to be a nice guy. He would help him through this.

Finally feeling like he had made up his mind he turned the last corner and headed down a street that was emptier than others.

"Did you have a hard time finding the place?" The readhead asked as he put out his cigarette under his black shoe. He was leaning on a lamppost where the lamp was broken.

"I honestly didn´t think I would come." He answered and felt that his voice reflected his nervousness.

He didn´t like this streets at night. He had heard rumours about dangerous things going on here. To break the heavy silence he swiftly he pulled out a 50 dollar bill from his jeans pocket and handed it to the smiling redhead.

"I'm glad you did. I even thought about another thing; when you leave the school, you can crash at my place. I´ll make room for you." He said and put his arm around him, a little too close for comfort for Ray's taste.

"Um… thanks but…I´ll.. think about it ok?" he said and tried to smile politely. The other haulted a little but he had a good pokerface. A little akwardly he let the arm drop to his side and started to walk. "C´mon."

Ray walked next to him down the rest of the way and he pulled his jacket around him more tightly. The night was getting colder. "So why did you want to meet me at this time?" he asked and checked his watch. It was one a clock in the morning. He couldn´t help but to see that the more they walked together, the more tense the redhead became. Why was he nervous?

"You can only reach the boss at this hour." Was the simple answer. He looked over to the younger teen. "You haven´t had a change of heart, have you? I said I would help you stay in town and I will...but only if you agree.."

"I know I know.." Ray said quickly, afraid that he would make the other angry.

He stumbled as Brooklyn suddenly turned into an alley and he carefully followed. It was a small space with a green door furtherst in the dark. He could see his new found friend´s movement by his hair color. The redhead took the handle when a high noise was heard from inside. As Ray moved closer he could hear voices that were shouting. Obviously not a good time to visit. His suspicion was confirmed as he heard Brooklyn to curse under his breath and as he let go of the handle.

"Ok, I need to go through the rules with you first. It seems like the boss isn´t in a good mood right now.."

"Oh? I can come back another..."

"Shut up and listen!" he hissed making the raven to flinch. "First rule, don´t insult him. Second, only speak when he asks you to. Third, leave the rest to me. Got it?" The tone was different from before. It was like Brooklyn was the one getting more nervous by the second, or even irritated. That couldn´t be a good sign.

Without further comment the older opened the door and Ray was grabbed by his jacket and pushed inside. He felt slight panic by the gesture as he backed into wearhouse. It was an old building that was both dark and cold. It was dripping rain drops in big pools on the concrete floor. Not the typical place to buy an ID.

"What will happen if I screw up?" he whispered but realized it was too late for an answer so he just turned around to deal with it the best way he could.

His mind didn´t have the time to register the screaming man who was tied to the wooden chair right in front of him as the man got a shot in the head. Blood splashed all over the area around the chair and the body which twitched twice after the shot.

As a late reaction Ray jumped by the sight and put his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from screaming to death and he backed into his supposed friend. He felt like he was going to throw up on the spot and he cursed to himself under his hand. He couldn´t believe what just happened.

Smoke was moving from the pipe of the gun the leader was holding and his cold stare was moving over to the shocked newcomer. Frightened golden eyes met his and he smirked by the sight.

"Is that the kid?" he asked calmly. His voice was dark and a little mysterious. That French accent was making him shiver.

"Yeah, I´d just told him about..." Brooklyn cursed as Ray let himself yell out and pushed him aside to get to the door. He only got hold of the handle as the red head grabbed his upper arms and pulled him from it. "Calm down!" he hissed in his ear, but the raven didn´t listen. He wanted to run home, he needed to get out of there. He had just been a witness to a fucking execution!

"Please... I..I didn´t see.. P-please!" he cried out as the other threw him on the dirty floor and he didn´t dare to move from that spot. He eyes didn´t even leave the ground and his hands was shaking. He could hear his heart pounding hard as footsteps moved over to him and he was soon staring on a pair of black leather shoes.

"I´m sorry you had to see that." A sound from a lighter was heard and he recognized the terrible smell of a cigarette, but he would never in his life complain about that right now.

"I would like to intruduce myself and it´s kind of hard if you are going to stay on the floor."

He got the comment as a sign to get up and he slowly did. The first thing he noticed was that the leader was a head taller than himself and that he didn´t smell very good. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black leather jacket with chains on the front the jacket he had a white shirt with blue thin stripes and a golden chain was around his pale neck. Dark hair like his own was ending right under his ears that were also covered in golden rings. His face was free from hair but a nasty scar over his right cheek gave him a very convincing look of experience on the streets.

"My name is Claude. So you are the one who Brooklyn recommended as our new team member? I have to admit, you doesn´t seem to have those qualities I´m looking for..and I don´t like to be disappointed."

"Boss, don´t be fooled by his scaredy-cat attitude right now, he is the best gymnast in school. I have seen him myself." Brooklyn said as he walked over to his leader's side.

The leader looked thoughtful for a moment.

"What is your name?"

The Chinese eyes looked over to Brooklyn a second before looking back at the leader again.

"…Ray Kon..." He was suprised that he even got out the words without stuttering.

"Well, Ray. I´m not convinced by you yet, but since Brooklyn here has been my right arm for years now I don´t have any reason to doubt him. I will put your skills at test in our next assignment, then we will see what happens."

He had never been this afraid in his entire life, the jail seemed to be a piece of cake right now. Did this guy think he wanted to be a part of a criminal gang that killed people? He had been set up...how was he supposed to get out of this mess without getting killed?

Claude walked back to talk with another bunch of young boys that was hanging around by a table. They all seemed to have similar criminal lives because every one of them could fit into a description of a person who beat people up.

Ray took this opportunity to grabb his so called friend´s arm. "What the hell is this? I can´t join your gang, what the fuck is this place?" he hissed but Brooklyn didn´t mind. After all, he was so scared right now that his hand was shaking in the hold.

"What is the problem? I told you that I was going to help you stay in this town, and I did just that. How about showing a little more appreciation?" He said back. His voice was still as calm but something could be read in his eyes that told the raven that this person was not normal. He showed signs of a psychopath.

The old Brooklyn from school was completely gone and Ray couldn´t understand how the redhead could hide this mental instability in school and around other people.

"I did not sign up for this, you set me up!"

"What? Are you really that naive to think I was just going to give you a new ID? You have to work for it. But ok, if you think you will be better off on the streets by yourself, be my guest." In a teasefull way he looked at the raven up and down slowly. "To be honest, I don´t think you would have a problem, pretty boy."

Ray growled as the other stroked his cheek suggestively and he slapped the hand away making the redhead snap like a switch had been pressed and Ray was grabbed by his jacket violently.

"Is there a problem Brooklyn?" Both of them looked over to Claude who was studying them. He looked amused but also a little suspicious.

"Not at all, boss."

Ray glared at him as he was pushed forward not so genlty. It was obvious that this deal was not only important for him but for Brooklyn as well. His reputation was probably on the line. He turned around and said nothing as the leader approached him again. The leader was not as easy to argue with after all.

"You see Ray, the rules here are very simple. You do as I say, when I say it. Loyalty is the main thing I´m looking for in a recrute, the rest you will learn from experience."

The older man smiled as Ray tried to avoid his eye contact. He loved the power he had over the younger boy, just like he had over all the members of his crew. It was very clear that this new one wanted to run away but he stayed put because of fear. Just like he should do.

"I understand that you have not been informed in what it is that I´m running here so let me give you some details. You see, my organization is the one who control the underworld in this city. I have a finger in everything that´s going on here, all from drug business, the gambling and the more entertaining clubs. If you are a part of my gang, then nobody can threaten your life. You are loyal to me and I´m loyal to you. Very simple indeed."

The raven was so mad now that he wanted to snort but he didn´t dare. The commersial sounded good but the first impression he got still haunted his mind. His eyes fell on the unmoving body on the right and the leader saw that.

"Of course, if you betray me... then it's another story." He said as he moved over to his 'creation'.

"This little bird had been singing to the wrong police force and because of that, I put out his song."

Ray didn´t want to listen. The more he heard, then it would be even harder for him to get out. If he only could make it to the door. He wasn´t sure if he should risk it because if he decided to run, he had to run for his life or he would be killed like that guy.

The leader held out his hand to Ray's but when Ray didn´t take it he took it by force a tight hold, making the Chinese to hold back a wince. "I guess we have a deal?"

"...I...I..."

A sudden bang from the roof made all of them to look up and the teen just reacted. He kicked the leader in the gut to get his hand free, then his legs just moved on their own.

Brooklyn didn´t have time to react as the raven ran past him at an impressive speed, probably called forth by adrenaline.

The green door flew up and hit the building wall by the force and it felt like he ran through it but he didn´t care, he was busy with surviving.

"After him!" Claude roared making five guys to run out the door. He grabbed Brooklyn in his shirt before he could go. "If he is putting up a fight, get rid of him." The right hand nodded before he was let go of.

The run Ray had made to school the day before was nothing compare to this. It didn´t feel exhausted because he couldn´t even feel his legs. He could only feel his heart pound loudly in his chest and his instincts told him to survive. As he left the ally he knew he had to find an escape route, so he couldn't be following the main street. It would give him a bullet in his back.

Behind the next building he found another ally and he took the chance to turn. The group was not too far behind. At the end of the ally was a fence that made his heart to freeze. He ran into it and tried to yank in it but it didn´t budge much. "Fuck!"

He looked behind him as the voices of the group became louder.

"I´d never thought I would have to use my skills for this..." he said as he backed up a little bit. He hesitated until the one of the gang members found him and called the others over. With a Chinese curse he threw himself at the fence and started to climb. He almost slipped down again because of his shoes, but manages to heave himself up and vaulted over the top.

By landing in the most ungraceful way in his gymnastic career, he stayed on the ground and held his side until the group of three guys tried to yank the fence down like he did before. He looked at them with fear in his eyes and forced himself up on his feet. As he looked over the group he also noticed the number.

`was three all of them?`

He didn´t want to ask them and find out so he started to run out on the parking lot, only to be cut of by six more guys of the same crew. When the three behind the fence made it over too, he found himself completely surronded. There were 9 of them now.

They all had the similiar taste in cloths. Typical gang-member style with much chains and old fabric. Most of them had armless jackets, which revealed many different tattoos of dragons, naked chicks, names, etc.

"Brooklyn´s order, get him or kill him." One brown haired guy said. He had his hair spiked with way too much hair products. He was wearing only jeans cloths that were dirty and he was painted black around his staring eyes. With a metal pipe in his hand he approached his victim who fell to his knees.

Ray didn´t have much experience in fighting. But he knew that back in China where he came from, the fights was over as soon as one of the participants showed that he was submissive. He hoped that the same rules went for New York.

"Are you putting up a fight, pretty boy?"

Ray brought up his hands infront of himself to show that he didn´t. "..p-lease..."

The guy glared and brought down the pipe into his face and slammed the teen to the ground. His cheek opened a nasty gash that immediately started to leak blood and he crawled together in a weak attempt to protect himself. He had been dangerously wrong.

"I said; Are you putting up a fight!" the guy yelled again and raised the pipe threateningly.

"...!"

He snickered by the answer and turned to the others who had the same idea. "I think he is putting up a fight." The others agreed and closed in to finish of the defeated raven. Ray screamed as someone grabbed his foot and dragged him on his back into the cirle and he saw his life passing by.

A kick in his stomach made the air go out of him and he expected another but it didn´t come. Out of nowhere a black shadow looking person came infront of him and catched the leg that was going to kick him again. With a push the gangster member fell on his ass with a cry and the shadow didn´t wait at all before attacking the others in the circle.

Ray watched in fear and amazement as the person who he guessed was a guy kicked, hit, and span in graceful movements and finally to get some more space pulled out two shiny swords from under his fabric, effectively making the others to back down.

The swords were beautiful, without any scratches at all except the trace of an inscription imprinted on them in an impressive style. The handle was bound in black fabric for the hold. The shadow's stance was collected like he didn´t worry at all.

The others on the other hand did back even more, something they shouldn´t have been so quick about...

A wip caught two of the gangmembers' necks making them collide and pass out. Others screamed by the scythe which pierced them. Blood was flying in the air and colored the ground around them. Ray flinched by a hand who tried to reach him but the shadow caught the arm with ease and broke it. The sound of the broken bone and the scream from the owner would haunt Ray´s mind forever.

The shadow turned to him but the black cloak covered everything but by the eyes. Dark crimson eyes looked so intensively at him that he felt like they where piercing his soul.

"Get out of here."

Like he was hypnotized by the stare he nooded and tried to get up. The shadow bought him some time and he ran away from the opening. But for some reason he stayed by the wall of the next brick building. Maybe because he was in pain, maybe cause he was tired... he didn´t know… something just told him to stay.

After the shadow had brought out his sword he was unstoppable. And his technique was like an expert's.

For the first time Ray also noticed the two other cloaked figures. The one with the whip moved faster than the others and he was mastering that whip better than a lion trainer on a circus. With that weapon that seemed to be in leather he could easily keep a good distance between himself and the attackers.

The last shadow was not moving his body very much. He waited for the stupid members to attack him, so he could slit them into pieces. That guy was ruthless! He only wounded two or three before the others started to run from him. That was when he started to move. The handle of the weapon was expandable so he could reach his victims even if they where running. He only had to swing his arm. That scythe was the most sharp and brutal thing he had seen in his life. You could probably slice stone with that thing!

Who were these people? Why did they help him?

The battle was soon over and it was the hooded guys' win. He didn´t know if he was going to thank them… mostly cause he didn´t want to answer questions about what he was doing there in the first place.

The dark figure with the scythe grabbed one of the almost unconscious guys and shook him to get his attention. "Where is your boss!" he hissed. Ray knew who he was talking about... was it him they where after? That French psycho? And if that was the case, was he still in the building with Brooklyn?

He knew he should get out of there but he decided it was best after they left.

The guy fainted without giving an answer making the hooded guy to growl and toss him aside like nothing. "Pathetic trash." He muttered.

The trio of black figures regrouped and the leader called out. "They are only 8 here, they were nine before."

The other dark figure with the whip got more tense." He is getting help!" his tone was a little softer that the others.

The leader growled. "Get the car." The others obeyed and the leader scanned the unconscious members as if he was looking for something. Ray couldn´t help but to take a closer look.

Right on cue a new group of people arrived on the parking lot, but these had guns. They didn´t waste any movements on attacks, just started to shoot. Ray hid behind the corner again and saw the leader shadow vaulted over a hood of the car closest to himself. The bullets were piercing the metal of the vehicle.

The tiger noticed that since the shadow couldn´t se his attackers then he couldn´t know how some of them who held their fire where closing in for a better aim.

He wanted to shout to him, but that would ruin his hiding place. He wasn´t even supposed to be there. Even so he couldn´t find himself to leave after the shadow had saved his ass. It was so frustrating that he couldn´t do anything to help! Something had to happen soon if his savior wouldn´t get shot.

Like an answer to his prayer a big van rolled into the area and slammed a couple of parked cars at the direction of the shooters. Some of them got hit and stayed unmoving on the ground. As the raven saw the shadow was going to go to his comrades, he noticed that his hero failed to see one of the attackers that aimed at him.

"Look out!"

Ray never thought he would risk his life for a stranger, but then again, he didn´t think he would ever find himself in this kind of situation anyway. The shadow acknowledged his presence and let himself be pushed to the ground by the raven to avoid the bullet that was ment for his head. He was slammed into the ground hard with a grunt but he noticed that the teen fell even harder and hit his head in the car door. The shadow signaled to his comrade who took out the remaining attacker with a shot of his own from where he sat in the front seat.

"C´mon let´s go!" his other comrade by the sidedoor of the van shouted. He was going to leave but his eyes fell to the unmoving teen on the ground. He wasn´t bleeding from the head but that didn´t change the fact that he didn´t move. He was faced with a hard ultimatum. "Argh, fuck!" he growled and picked up the Chinese in his arms and ran for the van.

"What the hell are you doing?" his friend by the door said but he didn´t listen. "Drive Bryan!" he ordered instead.

The falcon from the driver seat knew better than to argue about it. With the pedal in the metal they were gone from the scene before the cops or the enemy arrived.

Or so they thought.

A certain redhead who was left behind was standing by his fallen gang members, some of them was more wounded than others. Some of them where dead. He had caught the last sight and he couldn´t help but to think this wasn´t the last time he would see Ray Kon.

**END OF CHAPTER 3. **

**If I**** use names like "tiger" "wolf" or "falcon" in this story I apologies. It´s not suppose to be in this story since it is a none-Beyblade fic. Normally I use those nicknames to describe the characters, judging by their bitbeasts. Anyway, hopefully you understand what I mean! We are all Beyblade fans, right? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, here is chapter four!**** Enjoy!**

**BETA:**** Bonnie-San**

**Rating: M**

**Warning: Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **

**Paring: Kai/Ray. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer: Don´t own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. ^^**

"**Talking"**

**`Thinking´**

**AN: "Ye****ah! One more time, ACTION!" **

"You must be the stupidest leader of all times. Why do we even follow you?"

"If you wouldn´t be so stupid, then you maybe you would wait with your barking to see if he has a reason to this."

"Oh, I´m the stupid one? We would have had that french escagot head in a box if it wasn´t for that brat! I can´t believe you brought him with you, our dear leader!"

"I'm aware of that. But let's not talk about it right now. We have work to do."

"Yeah, and who´s fault is that."

Ray's golden eyes slowly opened and a big headache washed over him. He groaned silently as he tried to focus on his surroundings and locate where the voices came from. When he had woken up a little bit more, he tried to lie still to not draw any attention to himself.

He felt that he was lying on a cold floor in some apartment. He had seen these kind of floors before somewhere but that wasn´t his top priority right now.

The longer he laid there, the more he began to remember. The last thing he could recall was that he had saved a shadowy figure from getting shot in a shooting drama after being saved himself by that said someone and his two companions. Huh, fun… but where was he now?

In the other end of the room, he could hear three voices and as he put it all together he could only guess that it was the three shadows from before.

He figured there to be a reason why they saved him, but the question was; Did they have good intentions or was he in even more danger now?

He only saw an empty wall in front of him so he had to assume the door was behind him. Could he make a run for it before they noticed? He should do it, he had nothing to do with these strangers. All he wanted to do was to go back home to his apartment.

After a while he decided to make a run for it and took a quiet deep breath and rised his head only to meet trouble.

"You really thought it would be that easy huh?" he felt the pistol pressed at the back of his head and his eyes widened in shock. "We was just wondering what you where gonna do." The voice was cold and ruthless like the owner.

As it hit him that he was under gun threat he started to feel like crying. Was he going to die now? After all that shit with Brooklyn? What had he done to deserve this? Ok, he had decided to try and break the law of the United States a little bit but did that really come back to bite you in the ass so quickly?

"P-please..." The raven said and started to tremble but it didn´t affect the other who got to his feet.

"Turn around."

Carefully he did what he was told and rolled over his back with his hands on either side of his head in a surrendering manner. He felt pain from the gash on his cheek after he had been pressing it against the floor while lying down but he had bigger problems than that right now. The person above him was even scarier than he sounded but somehow Ray didn't feel scared anymore. With the gun pointed at his head he was more tense and alert almost as if waiting for the gun to fire.

He was looking into the coldest eyes he had ever seen. Even though they were calm now, he could easily see that those eyes had potential to give an old woman a heart attack. Or any other person for that matter. The kind of eyes that probably created the phrase 'If looks could kill'.

Even though he was lying down he could see that this guy with those cold eyes was taller than himself which made him believe he was a really small in general.

Anyway, everything with this guy screamed pale; His skin, eyes, and even the messy silver hair he had.

He had broad shoulders with well built muscles that showed even though he had a big black jumper on and underneath you could spot a white tank top. The rest of him reminded Ray of the military, the grey baggy pants and the dark green combat boots. There were not much details to be seen; The only real details he had was his black fingerless gloves and a really long belt that went two turns around his hips. One turn holding up his pants and the other turn was hanging loosely on his left side.

And the collar he wore. It stood out more than the others with its thick black leather and a five-ring metal chain was hanging down. It was probably meant more for a dog in Ray´s opinion.

´I wonder if that's just for looks, or if they really keep him on a leash?´

"So.. brat. Give me one good reason to not pull this trigger right now." He said with a smirk as he pressed the pipe against the raven´s head.

That it was against the law to kill people in cold blood was the first thought that came to mind but he knew that reason would be useless. This guy did not care about the law any more than Brooklyn did.

He knew he would think about his answer carefully but he couldn´t think well under threats. His golden eyes couldn't leave the gun either. Feeling his heartbeat growing steadier and steadier he just let some reason leave his lips "…I really _really_ want to live?"

The silver haired guy snickered. "Heh, looks like he got some sense of humor. Give me a more practical reason... like…. "

"It makes to much noise… " was a replay from the behind him. The raven was going to look at the other presence but the guy with the gun motioning him to keep looking at the gun.

"Ah-ah-ah, keep the eyes on the gunny. And yeah, that´s one reason. It makes too much noise, what do you say about that one?" The maniac said as he repeated his comrade's line in this sick little game. Ray thought about it, What did he say? Was he supposed to use that reason or what? They were just messing with him!

"..I...I… " was all he could say and he knew he was in trouble.

"Times up." Ray screamed and jumped as the gun clicked and he hid his face in his arms in relief and he laid down on the floor again. The gun was not even loaded! What a sick joke! He didn´t want anything else than to yell at the guy that he was a sick freak, but a sudden strong grip around his neck made him change his mind.

As he was pulled from the floor in an amazingly strong grip Ray saw that he had a clear vision of the room now. The door had been quite close to him and he cursed himself for not reacting earlier.

But the apartment was not in a good shape. If not the people had been there he would have never thought there lived people here. The walls was water damaged and there was only two tables, two chairs and a green bad looking couch in it. Three black backpacks were on the floor by the door.

He wanted to fight back but was too afraid of the consequences. He got slammed down on a wooden chair and flashbacks from the dead guy in the wearhouse came back to him as his hands got tied together behind his back. The ropes almost cut of the circulation in his wrists.

"Now, you are going to answer some questions. The rules are simple. You lie, you die. You tell us the thruth…we´ll see." The maniac said as he put down the gun on the table next to them.

"I don´t need the gun for this kind of job." He said and pulled forward the scythe that Ray had seen before. That thing was almost longer than the guy himself! It was a sick thing! It looked like a scythe with a thin double blade on the left side and an axe blade on the right. Five screws held it together in the base and the whole shaft was tied with white tape for better grip.

"Hey man, take it easy… " he tried to say but he was cut of by a hard backhand across his cheek. It felt like his head was going to fall off. "Oh god…" he groaned in pain. This was too much to be true.

"God? There is no god in this town, and never has been, so stop crying like a baby!" he growled and grabbed his raven bangs in a tight grip making him wince. He felt his cheek started to bleed and a drop ran down to along the cheek.

"Care to talk now?"

´Pull yourself together Ray… or else you are dead meat...´

"What do you want to know?" he muttered. He could hear the hard edge in his voice, but forced himself to keep it in, because he knew that snapping here would only make it worse.

"Now we're starting to get somewhere!" A new voice said. It sounded much more cheerful but it was just a facade. In front of him came another face. And he thought Brooklyn was a redhead, this guy was over redhead. Flaming red hair in a wild hair cut and two strands that was coming down in front of his ice blue eyes.

"We can start with why you were there yesterday. Why were you in trouble?"

"I'm asking the questions here, get lost bitch… " The silver haired guy growled making the redheads face to change for the bad. "Oh, shove it you asshole, go and hide somewhere!"

The two of them started to yell in each other's face, making Ray bewildered. At least the other gang had some kind of structure, these guys… didn´t. Did they really normally act like this?

Then a third figure stood up from the other table. He had been so quiet that Ray almost didn´t noticed him. He was wearing a black long coat looking thing. With that he recognized him as his savior. When the shadow stood up, the others got quiet and stepped aside.

Heavy steps from the combat boots were the only thing that was heard in the room. It was like Ray was looking at his execution, the footsteps matched his heartbeat. If possible this guy was even scarier than the silver haired beast.

The black hood covered his face but as he got close enough Ray was met with ruby eyes. Another pair of eyes that deserved the title of eyes with looks that could kill.

"Who are you?" The voice was as friendly as a snowstorm in a winter night and it was no rooms for anything else than information. Ray took a deep breath before he answered. What choice did he have?

"My name is Ray Kon, I'm a former student of the Dalton University by Central Park."

"Ah, the snob school." The redhead put in and received a smack in the head from his comrade.

"What connection do you have with Claude? Remember, the answer is the key to your fate."

The question was a real insult, like he would have anything to do with that criminal. His head turned to the side so he could glare at the floor.

"Don´t put me and him in the same category, I don´t have any connection with him whatsoever. His right hand Brooklyn set me up. He tried to trick me into joining them. I turned them down and you guys saved me as they were going to beat me to death." Then his golden eyes fell on his own leg as he felt a blood drop fall on his knee. The drop was swallowed by the material of his blue jeans and he couldn't help but to wonder how deep the cut on his face was. The person in front of him didn´t pay any attention to his condition. He seemed to think about something.

"Joining them? Are they recruiting rich kids now?" the redhead said but was shoved aside by the aggressive one who glared at Ray.

"He is lying."

Ray´s golden eyes widened. "No, I'm not…" He was expecting a punch as the angry guy got passed the leader and grabbed his jacket. "You are! Why would they want to recruit a wimp like you? You know more, spit it out!" In one aggressive, but simple, sweep he kicked off the chairs front legs of causing the teen to fall to the side. He hit his shoulder pretty hard but right now he was just happy as long he could breathe.

"Stop it, he is just a kid, you saw him; he is not with them!"

"Don´t get sentimental on me Tala. Go somewhere else if you can´t take it!" He growled back and was going to kick the tied up raven when the leader grabbed his arm.

"Don´t. Tala is right. He doesn´t know anything."

"Not you too..."

"Leave us." All three of them looked at him as the room fell in silence. Reluctantly the two of his comrades walked towards the door and left the room.

None of the remaining presence talked for a while. One didn´t want to and one didn´t dare to.

The Chinese felt that he was holding his breath as the other walked around him like a hawk circulating his pray.

"Who are you?" he finally asked as the leader bent down behind him.

"I´m no one. Except a part of your nightmare."

Ray gasped and jumped as he felt the rope come lose by a knife and he rolled to the side and tried to get to his feet. The other however was expecting it and was much faster as he grabbed the teen's neck. Ray yelled in pain and protest as he was fighting to get away. As he was turned around he tried to punch the stranger out of fear and self defense but that didn´t work as his wrist got caught in a tight hold. Without thinking he grabbed the first thing he could reach, which turned to be the leader's hood. As the black fabric was pulled off he stopped struggling and he finally saw his former savior's face. Pale skin, a cold expression and light blue bangs came into his view and he was very taken by the sight.

The leader on the other hand was not amazed and he used his whole body to push the raven up against the wall next to the door to gain extra force. Ray coughed as his back took a beating.

"So are you going to be cooperative or am I going to have to knock you out?"

"W-hat do you want with me?" he hissed as he now felt pain in his entire body. The thought of being knocked out was not a very bad suggestion right now, because he wanted to sleep.

"I have no further use for you, I´m letting you go. But I can´t let you see where you are so you will have to trust me to get you back."

Ray looked at him with tired eyes as he almost relaxed in the hold due to the fatigue he felt.

"Believe it or not but it's not weirdest thing I´ve done in the last couple of hours." He wanted to see some kind of reaction from the other, but he got nothing and suddenly he was facing the wall instead. Not long after that his eyes were covered by a blindfold.

As the knot was tied in the back of his head, he let for the first time his curiosity show. With Brooklyn he had been keeping it in, but now…something was different. If they were letting him go then these were the good guys… right?

"Not to provoke you or anything...but why don´t you kill me?" he whispered. He felt the fingers stop and he was not prepared for the warm breath in his ear as the other got closer.

"...I don´t have a reason to…"

He shivered by the breath he felt to his ear and he tried to pull away from the close proximity even though he didn´t have much space to do it.

They stayed like that for a moment. Even though it was hard he kind of felt that he trusted the other's words. Something that should have been impossible judging by the situation.. He thought the reason he could relax was because he knew he would get home without life threatening injuries. Maybe his luck was finally turning.

Soon he was pulled from the wall and he heard the door open as he was lead out in the hallway.

* * *

Ray kept quiet during the ride in what he could hear to be a van.

Since he had spent an hour at that empty apartment when the sun had risen, he guessed it was morning now. He didn´t know where they where going to drop him off, but he felt that it was going to be fine as long as he made it home to his apartment. He was done with adventures.

He sat there with his hands in his knees. He felt the driver was really aggressive in his way to handle the vehicle so he tried to sit as still as he possibly could. The blindfold did a good job, cause he couldn´t see a thing. It made him to rely on his hearing. Sounds from buttons being pressed caught his ears, probably from a computer. He decided to stop listening before his curious side would come out again. The last thing he needed was more trouble.

"Is here good?" the driver called out and he felt himself froze. This was it!

"…Yeah."

The van came to a halt but he didn´t move until a hand took his upper arm in a hold and led him out. The wind met his face and he could hear traffic right next to him. As they started to walk he almost tripped on the sidewalk but the other prevented him from falling. He didn´t know that he was led into an ally until he walked into a garbage can with his right leg.

"Where am I?"

"You will have to find your way home from here. I can´t go any further."

Ray was turned around with the back against the other and the blindfold was coming off. He was going to open his eyes when a hand covered them instead and he gasped as he was pulled into the others embrace rather forcefully. The instinct in him screamed that he was going to be stabbed and left behind but it came none.

The shadow felt the raven shake in his arms. A feeling he himself felt many years ago.

"Now listen. Soon you will find this to be nothing more than a nightmare. You will go back to your life of the living and I will have never existed... good luck."

The words were comforting in the hard situation and he was able to calm himself somehow.

But as he felt the other was about to let go, it gave him a feeling that he was not able to show how grateful he was for this ending.

And also that this was the last chance he had to say something because they where never going to meet again.

"Thank you for saving me." Was all that came out even though he wanted to say so much more.

It was silent between them and for a moment he could hear the other´s soft breathing... Lastly the hand was removed and he was left standing alone in the ally.

**TBC.**

**I know this is short, but next one will be longer, I promise. I just had to squeeze this in to make it right. **

**About the University, It´s not really a university but I know that is a school that lies around Central Park. I also know it has gymnastic as a course. What I don´t know is if it´s a snob school or not, but if it´s not… then blame Tala not me. ^^**

**A couple of answers**** to the last chapter´s review; **

Chaseha-Wing – No it was not Kai, it was Brooklyn. ^^ And no, he will not be attending the school again. Thank you for your loyal reviewing!

superhackaninja5 – Thank you, and yes there will be much more Kai in the coming chapters! ^^ Thank you for your review!

Evil Kitty Dictator - No you are amazing! Hahaha, well..maybe we both are! ^^ I look forward to read more from you too! Ttyl, my friend.

FireFox Vixen – Thank you!

**Take care everyone, Cya! **

**Sparkleshadowcat. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, Chapter five is out,**** Enjoy!**

**BETA: Bonnie-San**

**Rating: M**

**Warning: Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **

**Pairing: Kai/Ray. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer: Don´t own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. ^^**

"**Talking"**

**`Thinking´**

Ray fell to the floor and leaned on his now locked door. As he was sitting in the quiet room of his apartment now he almost couldn´t believe what he had experienced in the last couple of hours. If he closed his eyes he saw all images of violence, crimes, and unfriendly faces and he realized how close he had been to death.

Slowly he curled up with his legs and hugged himself as the overwhelming feelings took the best of him.

His home had been a little more than two blocks from where he had been dropped of. He could barley remember the walk, the traffic or the people he passed, although if he tried really hard he could remember a distant voice of a woman who was asking for road direction, which he had ignored. It was like he had been in a trance.

Now he just sat there on his apartment floor, unmoving like a statue, as the morning hours were passing by.

What was he going to do now? He couldn't go back to the school already if Brooklyn would be there. It was a scary thought that that madman would go free on the streets.

He couldn't wait to get on the plane to China, to go home and just forget about this mess. All he had to do now was to make it that long. Suddenly his eyes widened.

If Brooklyn simply checked in the school office he would be able to find the address to Ray's apartment.

He quickly got to his feet despite the pain in his body and ran with great haste towards his bed to pull out his bag from under it. He was no longer safe here and he had to get away. Tyson quickly came to his mind. He had to ask his friend if he could stay at his place until his flight he packed he coincidentally caught his own reflection in a mirror and stopped in his tracks. He had not realized that his cheek was covered in blood. And it was first now when he saw the nasty gash that it actually began to hurt again. He put his bag down on the bed and walked over to the washbowl in his bathroom. The wound stung real badly but after a while he finally got it clean.

He looked at himself and remembered the gang member who had struck him with that metal pipe and considered himself very lucky to have gotten out of there alive. And it was all thanks to…

With a deep sigh he turned around and leaned on the counter sink. Who was that guy?

He had never met such a frightful person. If he had not saved him he would have thought the guy was a unfeeling killing machine. That was a scary thought. Those ruby eyes still haunted his mind. Even though he had told him to forget about it all, it was impossible. It was thanks to that guy that he was still alive. How were you supposed to forget something like that?

He let his thoughts drift away a while before he shook his head.

"Arh! C'mon Ray…get a grip." He growled and continued into the bedroom to fill his bag with his few belongings.

When he was finished, he picked it up and looked around for any forgotten items. His golden eyes fell on a couple of papers by the door. His mail.

Most of them was advertisement but one letter stood out. It was marked with the symbol of his school and with a slight frown he opened it.

_Dear Mr. Kon_

_Despite the unfortunate conclusion about your scholarship, our school would like to offer an economic assistance with your flight back to China. We will wait for your call about what date we should book the ticket. _

_Other than that, we wish you a safe flight and best wishes in the future. _

_Best regards, _

_Mr. __Charles Hamington, Prinicple of __Dalton University._

His frown deepened. Even though he was grateful for the gesture, he couldn´t help but to be slightly annoyed by the sentence _best wishes in the future_. He probably didn´t have a future in gymnastic now. It was like a discreet insult.

Noticing that he had lingered in his apartment long enough, he put the letter in his pocket and left.

**(****Around Lunchtime)**

The taxi door was closed shut and the yellow car drove away to it´s next destination. Ray looked at his watch, he was pretty sure that Tyson had the afternoon free from classes, so he should be home.

The sky thickly clouded up on his way to his friend so he quickly entered the building to prevent himself to get too wet in the quickly increasing rain.

Tyson left the TV as he heard a carefully knock on his door. His eyes couldn't help but to land on his watch in the hallway as he passed it.

"Max is still in school." He said out loud as he wondered who could be visiting him.

When he looked through his door eye he got his answer so he opened.

"Hey buddy, what´s up?" he asked in a slight surprised tone.

The raven stood there looking at the floor like he had done something wrong. His hair was slightly messy and in his hand he carried his bag that from the look of it contained most of his belongings. At first Tyson just thought his friend was tired, but the sight of the gash on his cheek made him think otherwise.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

Tyson blinked a few times. "Eh? Well…no of course not!" he then said sheepishly and stepped aside with a slight chuckle. Ray walked passed him and the door was shut behind them. After half an hour, Ray was sitting on the red couch with a cup tea in his hands. Tyson sat next to him and was fidgeting with his hand remote to the TV.

Tyson had never claimed to be an organized person. There were clothes all over the floor and many soda cans was lying on the table in front of them. The walls were filled with posters of baseball teams and the shelves were stuffed with movies and other various items. The messy room was silent for a couple of minutes before Tyson spoke

"Ray? Will you tell me what's wrong?"

"..I.." Ray started. He didn't really know what to say. Lying to his friend was not an option, but if he went ahead and told him all the things that had happened then it would probably be a little too much for Tyson to handle…

So he decided on something close to the truth. "I've been in a fight Ty… with that red-haired guy from school. I don´t want to make a big deal about it, but I don´t feel comfortable in my apartment anymore."

Tyson jumped up from his seat. "Well, you can stay here if you like. I can get the spare bed for you and then…"

"No, it's alright. If you have a blanket, then I take the couch. I´m so tired…" The raven admitted.

"Ok. Are you sure you don´t want to tell me what´s going on?"

"Yeah…"

Tyson shrugged and left the room only to come back with a pillow and a grey blanket. Ray gratefully took them and smiled at his friend. "Thanks Ty."

"Don't mention it buddy, you know Max and I got your back." He said as he walked over and turned off the light. "You should sleep, cause you look exhausted. I go to my room."

As the door to Tyson´s room was closed, Ray knew it was safe to undress. He carefully pulled his T-shirt over his head and hissed slightly at the pain the bruises he had on his sides from the fight caused. The marks had really taken on a deep purple color. He threw the fabric aside and then continued to pull out the band that held his black hair up. The raven waves of hair fell down and danced around his smaller, but yet muscular, figure. He pulled his fingers in through it for a minute before continued to pull off his socks. After, he carefully laid down on the furniture and pulled the grey fabric around him, and he fell asleep almost immediately.

.

And that´s the reason why he got annoyed with Tyson who came out from his room again and was speaking on the phone. His friend had told him to sleep, didn´t he mean it?

"No, I´m telling you, something is very wrong." He heard from the hallway.

He groaned and rolled over to see if Tyson was looking at him from the doorway but he wasn´t. He had learned early on that; to be quiet was not an easy task for Tyson. But the most annoying part of this was that now his friend seemed senile as well. He wanted to sleep! He glanced at the clock at the video and saw the numbers; 14.05 p.m and it hit him. He had been sleeping for two hours! It felt like he just had fallen asleep and yet he was still so tired. Tyson´s words brought him out of his selfpity and he felt himself go was talking about him.

"The thing is, I don´t know what to do Maxie. He won´t tell me anything. And he has some bad bruising all over him… yeah…yeah… What should I do?"

Ray decided that he had heard enough and as quietly but quickly as possible dressed himself.

"No, not later. I need your advice. I don´t know how to handle this alone…" Tyson had walked into the kitched to get himself a glass of juice when he heard the front door slam shut. His eyes widened as he put two and two together.

"Eh… I´ve got to go, he just left. Call you later bye." He said and run for the door to stop his friend.

**(****Meanwhile in school.)**

"…_I don´t know his to handle this alone…__"_

"You don´t have to. We'll figure it out." Max said and stopped his walking as he picked up a sound in the background.

"_Eh… I´ve got to go, he just left. Call you later bye." _

The blonde student closed his phone when it clicked in his ear. He became very worried about the news and Tyson sounded very worried about Ray. He decided it was best to go over there right after his class.

He continued around a corner and did not expect to walk into another student. He stumbled back to regain his balance and looked at the other person. "I'm sorry…" He said quickly and his blue eyes widened.

"Get lost kid." The guy said with a threatening tone. He was much bigger than Max and he glared like he was going to punch him. Max didn't hesitate to follow the advice and quickly marched pass him to get to his classroom. As he passed him, his eyes couldn't help but to fall on the other person who also stood behind the bigger guy. Max immediately recognized the redhead and something changed in those blue eyes, as his expression darkened. Way too convenient. They locked into a glaring contest but then Max remembered that he had somewhere had to be and sprinted off in haste.

To scare of small chickens was the best thing the big guy knew and he smirked at his leader proudly. But Brooklyn was not impressed. "Quit it and focus. Open the damn door before he comes back." He ordered. The guy nodded with respect and easily picked the lock of the door and opened it for his leader. They both entered the office and locked the door behind them.

As both of them already knew the office was empty since the principal was in a meeting but they didn´t waste any time to begin and search the desk for well needed papers.

"Typical that old jackass to leave the files out in the open." Brooklyn said as he dug in the pile of files on the desk surface. "He is surely getting old and senile."

He looked through the large heap of files. "I know he talked with the little rat just recently, he couldn´t have thrown it out yet…aha!"

When he had found the right one he opened it and smirked at the raven on the picture. "I got you now Ray."

* * *

"Ray, wait! Don´t go, please I didn´t mean it!"

"What didn´t you mean, Tyson? That you were calling Max behind my back or that you obviously think that I am mental." Ray said as they reached the last pair of stairs. He would have walked faster but his body was tense after just waking up on the couch and the injuries didn't help either. With a sudden yank in his bag he was forced to turn around and glare at Tyson.

"Let go of it." He said firmly but Tyson held on to it with a stubborn expression.

"No, listen to me. I don´t think you are mental. Calling Max was not ment to hurt you, I was trying to help."

Ray listened but he didn´t want to believe it. It would be easier to leave if he chose not to. Typical his luck, just over a couple of hours had his problems increased. Now more people knew about his location and it was the last thing he needed right now. "I said that I didn´t want to talk about it."

He growled in annoyance when Tyson yanked the bag out of his hand. "Give it back Tyson!"

"No you are not leaving!" The blunette said in a childish tone and ran up the stairs, knowing that Ray would follow.

Ray took the bait and marched after him the best he could, what choice did he have?

"Seriously Tyson, act your age!" he argured and used the railing for support on his way up.

His friend had not entered his apartment so he waited outside for his friend to catch up with him. He looked over the raven with a worried expression. "Shit dude, what really happened? You seem really hurt."

Ray didn´t like the pity he saw in his friend's eyes. "Never mind. I take my bag now."

Tyson started to glare back when Ray reached out his hand. "I´m not a child. You can´t tell me to not care when I´m worried about you." He argued and defiantly clutched the bag tighter against his chest.

"You don´t understand Tyson." Ray said seriously. "I know you want to help, but there is nothing more you can do. Something is up, but I can´t tell you what it is. The only thing I can tell you is that I need to get away. I´m not safe here and neither are you if I stay. Especially since you also told Max. And he is in danger too now."

Tyson´s face suddenly paled and he looked like he was trying to take the information in. Ray gave him a moment to get it all together. "W-hat do you mean you are not safe?"

The raven let his eyes drop to the floor before looking up again at him guilty. "It´s just as bad as it sounds." He said honestly and pointed at his wounded cheek. "And I don´t want you or Max to get hurt too."

"… Shit Ray."

The raven just nodded and again reached for his bag. Tyson handed it over reluctantly. "But I still can´t just let you go…what if we call the police?"

"If that would have been an option, then I would… but I honestly don´t think it´s a good idea. It would bring up questions that I´m not comfortable to answer." He walked a couple of steps but turned around to look at his helpless friend. "I just want to go home Ty."

The blunette nodded. "When does your flight leave?"

"I´m going over to the school now to have them book the earliest ticket out of here."

"No, don´t do that. Call them from here. I don´t want you to go over there if Brooklyn is there."

Ray tried to object when he was gently pushed inside the apartment. But Tyson was persistent. "Max will be over here as soon as he can, and you can book your flight in the meantime. It will give us a little while to say goodbye, buddy, and you don´t even have to leave this apartment."

With that settled the wooden door was closed shut and locked behind them.

* * *

"Any word from Brooklyn yet?" Claude asked one of his men who passed him. He was currently opening a couple of boxes with illegal contents. The area around him was full of them and cars were driving in and out to exchange goods in the abandoned warehouse.

"I know he was going back to school. He should be back soon." The gangster answered.

"I want you to tell him to report to me as soon as possible." The leader ordered and he received a nod as an answer. He looked at the watch, it was not like Brooklyn to not report when he was given an important mission like this. But all he could do now was to wait.

The garage door opened and a new car arrived. He got up from his seat and started with more work.

* * *

Ray hung up the phone and sighed. He had to wait for the next day to fly home. Slowly but surely he felt a closure to this crazy circus. And slowly he began to relax.

After all, It wasn´t so bad because that meant he could have a good movie night with his only friends here and have a proper goodbye. All he had to do was not to leave the building until he had to get to the airport. Brooklyn wouldn´t take the trouble to locate Tyson´s address, right? Because they had only exchanged a glance in the hallway and that was very brief.

He hoped he was right.

He heard the door shut close. He could admit, before he had felt very reluctant about the idea that Max would be joining them, but now he couldn´t wait to see his little blue eyed blondy. Despite how low he might feel over his situation, Max was always a person he could count on to change the mood to the better.

Suddenly he was sent to the floor by a massive orange blurr that came out of nowhere. Looking up he noticed that it was the same person that had just crossed his mind.

"Max! I see you´re already here…" He forced out with the little air he had left in his lungs.

"You bet! I came here as fast as I could." Max climbed of Ray and they both sat up on the floor. Ray grimaced and began to massage his bruises that had complained at the mistreatment.

No matter how long time he had known Max he was never prepared for the unexpectedly and bonecrushing hugs Max handed out when he felt that he needed to.

Noticing that something was wrong with his friend, Max became more worried. "I´m sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No, it´s alright, I'm fine. You don´t need to bother." He said a little too quickly.

Max ignored the statement and helped him up on his feet. "You can always talk to us Ray. Don´t think anything else."

Feeling that he already had changed the atmosphere for the worse he scratched his neck and looked down in shame. "I don´t want you or Tyson to get involved Maxie. I just talked to the school office and they booked a ticket for me tomorrow."

"Are you leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, I have nothing left to tie me to New York. And besides, I miss my home."

"And you are never coming back? Not even to visit us?"

Ray smiled a little. "Maybe you two can visit me?" Coming back to New York was not in his future. He knew that much.

Max eyes brightened. "Can we really visit? I have always wanted to see China!"

Tyson chose that moment to join the conversation. "C´mon guys, we can always discuss China later. Let´s have a party night to remember!" He said and dashed out to the kitchen again.

"Yeah!" Max yelled and followed Tyson with equal eagerness while dragging Ray with him. The bruises were long forgotten.

To Ray´s relief the evening really went on with little complications. They were chatting a lot, joking around, laughing, and spent long hours watching movies while eating a really good dinner. (It was Rei's work of a simple recipe from his home town, which they found to be delicious for some reason.)

Both Max and Tyson fell asleep on the floor during the last movie, and Ray couldn´t help but to smile at their sleeping positions. One of Tyson´s legs was lying over Max´ stomach and one of Max' arms were placed over Tyson´s throat. It was a funny sight.

Ray was lying on the couch again and turned off the TV with the remote control before he made himself comfortable enough to fall asleep, despite Tyson´s slightly annoying snoring.

Thinking back on the last few months he had spent with his friends, he felt for the first time that he _was_ going to miss something from the big Apple. Despite his big need for going home, Max and Tyson´s behavior had left an imprint on him. Even though they said that they were going to visit, he couldn´t help but to feel that he was leaving two really good friends behind for good.

He could only hope that his feeling would not become reality.

* * *

Even though it was a cold night, the big city did not look dead. It was shining in all kinds of colors from commercial signs and from the car lights on the busy roads below. And even more lamps were shining through all windows of the high buildings that were standing packed together.

A black hooded figure was sitting dead silent on one of the many roof tops. The cold wind pulled in his dark clothes but the only time he acknowledged it was when he pulled in his cigarette under the fabric to prevent it from pass out. His unfocused ruby stare was directed to the beautiful sight of the shining city before him. He had nothing but hate for this city. No lights, laugh from other people nor nice weather would make him feel any different. What he saw was something else. He saw an insanely crowded city with insolent people who lived in it with guns, violence, betrayal and hate. Something that the so called law would never be able to clear up.

New York was a place where weak people could not survive if you where not born in the right family. Someone without the right connections would be stabbed in the back by the authorities and forced to learn the harsh way of life on his own.

Himself was a perfect example and he knew he would not be the last to be created by the injustice.

A big cloud of smoke left his lips and his stare fell down on the street below where some Taxi drivers was yelling at each other again for being in the way of each other. This was how he saw people. Always putting themselves first in any situation even if it was something small. This was the way he remembered them from when he was kid. He had not been in contact with many people since then. And for that specific reason, he couldn´t help but to feel amazed by what happened ealier this morning.

"_Thank you for saving me." _

Why did I save him?

The answer was as unclear as if he would look at the incident through a foggy window. And even if he tried very hard to rub the condensation away, it wouldn't clear. He couldn´t find an answer even though he had tried all day. And because of that he felt tired and annoyed. The daytime was usually the time when he was supposed to sleep and recover.

He had left his comrades without a word and even though he knew the chance of them not getting along by themselves was big, he wanted to be by himself for now.

That face was still clear in his head. Those scared golden eyes had made him feel things that he had not even thought about in years. The hate he had for his long time enemy grew even bigger now when he saw what happened to innocent people. This raven Chinese had been one of them.

He snorted to himself. A so called normal person would have been glad that he had saved a life and made some kind of difference to the person who had been in the claws of the criminal gang, but he wasn´t. He was just angry that he had forced himself to clean up his enemy's mess instead of targeting him like he was supposed to. He now had his comrades against him for yesterday's failure and they had to start over with all the work now. He felt angry over it all and yet he felt something else... like.. he had some connection with the owner of those golden eyes.

Golden eyes, that was what he called him even though he had a name…. Ray.

The sound of the door to the stairs of the building opening was heard and he threw away the cigarette and got down from the edge. He moved soundlessly across the roof and stayed behind the corner of a fan. The light from a flashlight swept by his hidden form and a cough from the security guard was heard.

"I could have swear I saw smoke from this roof." The man said to himself as he passed him. Kai didn´t put much care in the other's presence since the man was insignificant and he simply walked behind the guard as he had passed. Kai continued into the clearing and over to the emergency ladder from where he had arrived.

"I'm getting to old for this…who is there?" the white haired man with uniform called out when the shattering sound of someone letting go of the ladder was heard.

* * *

"Did everything go according to the plan?"

"Yes Boss. As soon as the ID is finished I´ll send one of our guys on the next plane to China in Ray´s name. Then we just have to wait for him at the airport and then we got him."

Brooklyn said as he closed the door to the office. He knew that look he got from the man who was sitting on his desk with a sour face. His boss had waited for this answer a couple of hours so he knew it was important to give good news.

Claude waited for a minute just to see if his right hand was nervous, but he knew the calm red-head better than that.

"Good." He admitted. "When that time comes, bring him to me. I get rid of him myself. It´s important that the other new recrutes in the gang see and learn that betrayal is not accepted. I need you to succeed with this task Brooklyn." The man eyes him like in challenge.

The redhead simply shrugged as to show that he wasn´t that worried about the plan.

"Yes as long as he shows up."

"Oh, he will. Those damn black hoods have no use for him. They probably left him somewhere after they left." Claude´s eyes left his comrade and looked out of the window. Everytime he thought about that trio he would be caught in deep thought. So he wasn´t surprised when Brooklyn woke him up from his thoughts with a question.

"Why do you think they helped him? They have left people behind before. This was a new scene."

He looked over to his right hand again and his eyes was full of the despise he had for the gang.

"I don´t know why. They surely missed a chance, we can just assume that they think the kid can give them information. Which obviously is a dead end."

Brooklyn could see the red liquid was shaking along with the hand which held the glass as the French lowered his wine glass on the table.

He had hoped that his boss would have calmed down during the day, that´s why he had taken his time with the mission. But it was obvious that that was not the case. Feeling that he had to dodge a bullet of rage he was going to assure his boss that everything was under control but was interrupted by a sudden painful scream coming through the wall from the next room.

As he kept listening to the yelling his sky blue eyes fell back to his boss who studied his reaction.

"Yeah, I´m taking care of it. It was a little rat who had run into the shadows and hoped to hide."

Brooklyn just nodded, at least it wasn´t on his shoulders.

"I assume I don´t need to remind you too that letting those demons to come that close is not acceptable."

"No, of course not."

"Then why did they?" The angered man threw the wine glass into the wall to prove the point. "They were on the fucking parking lot! After all this time, how could you let this happen and let them come that close!" Only silence greeted Claude and he simply turned to look out of the window behind him. "If only I could find a way to catch those damn demons." He said and took a seat by his desk. "So many deals have been slipping out of my hands because of them…. Because of him."

That first meeting his memory would never let him forget.

**(FLASHBACK****)**

Claude was running to his desk and pulled out his breifcase and headed for the only door in the office when he suddenly stopped. A dark hooded figure was standing in the way like a living shadow. He backed away and tried to block out the screams and sounds of furnitures chrashing downstairs. The shadow was most likely not alone.

He quickly reached for the gun on inside the desk, but the hooded stranger was so fast he didn´t have the chance. With a new crash he ended up on his back on the desk screaming in pain as he felt like his back would break.

"Who are you! What do you want!"

The only thing he could see under the big hood, was a pair of demonic red eyes looking at him with burning hate. Claude thought he was a demon, sent from hell to pick him up and have him answer for his sins. Until the shadow spoke.

"Revenge."

He knew his time had come, when miraculously Brooklyn came in and fired his last shots at his attacker. With an abnormal grace the shadow avoided them and quickly took on Claude´s comrade and effectively knocked the daylights out of him. Suddenly Sirens could be heard outside the building, the cops having picked up the noise of a fight since this hideout was one of the main locations of their headquarters. The hooded nightmare looked like he would like to finish what he started but simply turned around and leaned on the open window.

"Until next time." He said darkly and without a trace he was gone. No person could have survived that fall. But yet Claude knew he had.

**(END OF FLASHBACK****)**

"It all started that night for me. Who knows when it started for him? Nor do I know or care. I have avoided him this far and my confidence has grown. But I have put it out on a mission for me to catch this hooded man and make an example out of him. I just have to wait and let him make a wrong move." He said and smiled for the first time that night.

* * *

"Here are the last ones." Tala said as he sat down at the table and dropped a bunch of papers on the surface. Bryan was sitting on the other side of the small desk. A small lamp with bad light was hanging above them.

"Ok, what do we know so far?" The redhead asked to catch up with Bryan who was reading. Tala was tired and suppressed a yawn while ignoring the glare from Kai for his currently absence state of mind. The leader closed the door behind him and took of his black hood. Quickly scanning the room he was pleased to see that there was no sign of any struggle between his comrades while he had been gone.

"We know that the scumbag has been placing bases here, here.. and here." Bryan said as he pointed at certain places on the map. "Yesterday´s base is out of the picture now. There is no way he could be there still."

Tala nodded. "Is he moving towards the harbour? Why else did he make a deal with the gang down there?" He pointed out, remembering the other night's little meeting with the creeps.

"I have a feeling Claude is using the harbour for other things. We have too little to go on, to just focusing on that possibility. We have to see a bigger picture." Kai said after a long silence. He picked up another map that was older and more written on. There were black marking circles all around town.

"Four years ago, he was here." He said and pointed. "Three years ago, here, here, here…here and two years ago there." He took forward a black marker and made another cirle. "Last night he was here… He doesn´t move around in any specific pattern."

"After our blood spill yesterday he will be more careful. He still don´t know who we are but if we keep messing up, there will only be a matter of time before he finds us."

"If _we_ keep this up?" Bryan snorted making Kai sigh

"Ok, me. This time it was me. Drop that shit now. We will get him next time."

Tala smirked at the staring contest the other two had and he rested his upperbody on the table and placed his head on his arms.

"Even though I would _love_ to argue with you on that one, we did find out things yesterday that brings up even more questions." Bryan continued and got up from his seat. "Why are they dealing with rich brats from that school?"

"We know he is using Brooklyn in there. It could be just another drug point." Kai said dismissively.

"Hn, I don´t know about that. That school would have noticed that kind of thing. They got a good system. And it´s too bad because we could have targeted the Mr. excuse-for-a-redhead in there and saved ourselves a lot of work." Tala commented.

The silence grew heavier until the falcon got enough and growled out loud. "Screw this. I say we go to the only source we got. It can´t be helped!"

"Calm down, asshole. What are you talking about?" Tala said as he also got up from his seat mostly for his own saftey. When his comrade was in this kind of mood he knew things could easily start to fly. In this situation, the table.

"Think about it Red. We are lacking real information and we need to get more. How did we get it last time?"

Tala looked at him with a suspicious stare. "….that kid again?"

"Yes that kid. We let him go way too early. He knows more than he told us." He turned to Kai. "We have to get hold of him again."

Kai didn´t look convinced. "You just want to scare him some more."

Bryan smirked. "I could say that´s not true, but you know me better than that. Either way, you brought us into this mess and we have to get the information. I can´t believe you are still thinking about it."

Kai closed his eyes and his silence lasted for at least a couple of minutes before he whispered. "Ok."

Tala sighed with a frustrated tone. He didn´t like this one bit. "So..? How do we find him?"

The leader could answer that as he took out a black cellphone from his pocket. "I call an old friend." He waited patiently for the other person to pick up. "…I need your help."

**TBC****.**

**End of chapter 5.**

**I´m currently working on the next chapter, and I´m planning on squeezing in some****more action in there. Hopefully it will come out very soon. ^^**

**A couple of answers from chapter 4;**

Evil Kitty Dictator- **Hahaha, yeah it's a shame! ^^ For the questions, I can´t answer because I don´t know yet. Ttyl buddy! **

FireFox Vixen - **Thank you! ^^**

Chaseha-Wing - **"The blood would be everywhere, and would take forever to mop!" ****is**** a good reason, but like you said, it would take of the seriousness of the situation! ^^ **

superhackaninja5 – **Thank you for your loyal reviews! I will put in more of Kai´s thoughts. **

**As for everyone out there who**** always looking for a great story, you can´t miss my BETA´s story "The Tale Of Trust." It´s an AU story with awesome hard work and well thought of- background that involves tons of mystery, action, and (to all us tiger-lover-fans) A Rei who is ...HOT! ^^ I´m telling you, read Bonnie-San ´s story now! ^^ **

**Take care everyone! Cya!**

**Sparkleshadowcat. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, Chapter six is out, Enjoy!**

**BETA: Bonnie-San**

**Rating: M**

**Warning: Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **

**Pairing: Kai/Ray. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. ^^**

"**Talking"**

**`Thinking´**

**A/N: This chapter will need some explaining. After this chapter is out I'm going back to earlier chapters and change Ray's name to Rei. This is because it will fit in better in the story. I noticed this when I was writing the scene about his passport. ^^ **

**Also I would also like to point out to anyone who is thinking about flaming me about my way of writing the security on the airport. I'm not saying that this is the correct way New York Airport is working. But it is in this story, which is fictional after all. **

**Now… On with the story!**

Rei's golden eyes were scanning the passing buildings from the front seat in Tyson's car. His friend was a quite good driver. Slowly did he see the last buildings of the neighborhood he had been living in for six months and he knew he had seen them for the last time.

Max sat in the middle seat behind them and was clapping his knees.

"So…" He said to ease the silence. "You gonna miss those burgers at Louice's Rei?"

The raven had to smile. "You bet. You will have to send me some."

"Sorry but I don't think they make it to the mailbox." Tyson said at he turned left.

"No, not if you attempt to send them. You will eat them before you cross the street." Max said causing them all to laugh.

"So what are you missing the most from your home?" Tyson asked as he turned left after the green light. The traffic was heavy as always in the big city.

"Oh, were should I start? I miss the waterfalls, the mountains, the big forest… did I mention the waterfalls?" You could see Rei shining up at the mention of his beloved homelands.

Tyson smiled at the changed of mood of his friend. It was much better compared to how he was yesterday. And it was easier to not be so sad now when he saw how homesick Rei was. It was easier to let go.

"Oh, I can't wait to see it Rei!" Max said.

"You will love it Maxie. I want to show you everything. There are no televisions or videogames there, but we can run in the big forest and climb the cliffs."

"Really, no videogames at all? What about the food, what do you guys eat?" Tyson said with a slightly scared face.

Rei faked glared at him. "Insects and grilled berries. If you are nice then I might catch a snake for you."

They sat in a ten second silence before they laughed again.

* * *

Rei walked into the big airport as he looked for the sign that showed where he was going to check in his bag. Even though he was glad to leave the city, he felt slightly sad for leaving his two friends.

The line was not too long, only 7 people before him, but it gave him enough time to think things over a bit more.

This was not the end he had been hoping for in The Big Apple. He knew that he probably would never get anywhere with his gymnastic dream now. Feeling stupid for almost breaking the law in the process he tried to shake off the bad conscience he was having. His stupid mistake had almost gotten himself killed and he was very happy to just make the right choice now and go home.

About fifteen minutes later of self hate, he handed the brown haired girl his passport and waited for her to ask him to give her his bag. She typed the numbers in the computer and waited patiently for it to register him. "I'm sorry the computer is a little slow today. Could you hand me your ticket please?" she said sweetly, making him smile back. She had a nice energy.

"Sure."

She looked it over while she waited. "So you are going to China? Never been there, but I hear it supposed to be beautiful this time of year."

"It really is." He agreed. "It will be nice to go back home."

The computer gave out a peep sound, making the girl to frown for a second before smiling again even though he could tell it was kind of forced this time. "Can I ask if you have changed your flight recently?"

"No I haven't. "He said and put his bag on the floor. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not at all… I will just type in the code again…" She said and looked at his pass port again. This time the computer gave out the same noise, only quicker this time.

"Excuse me for just one second, please wait here."

Rei nodded as she ran away from the computer to talk with another woman further down the desk. She seemed to whisper something and show his passport to her. Making her frown also. His good hearing picked up the line…"There has to be some kind of mistake…"

Suddenly both of them came back to him and the new woman greeted him with a smile before looking at the computer. "Sir, have you changed you flight recently?"

"No I haven't." He answered again.

"Alright then, I will have you wait for just a moment sir. Please don't go anywhere." She said and walked over to one of the phones on the wall. His instinct told him to do the opposite but he knew he had been rather paranoid since that night. The only concern he had was to miss the flight for some kind of computer error. The brown haired girl looked at him as if she was trying to read him or something but he didn't put much more thought in it before a dark voice behind him caught his attention.

"Is there a problem here?"

He turned around to face a security guard. "What's going on?" He asked as he looked back at the guilty women by the computer.

"Sir, I'm afraid we have some more questions for you, and we'll need you to stay here until this misunderstanding is solved. Would you be so kind and follow this man to another location?"

"But I'll miss my flight." He said and felt the guards hand on his shoulder, making him tense up.

"Don't worry about that. We'll be sure to solve this. Please follow this man and my superior will be with you in a moment."

"…Um, okay. Sure." He said with tense voice. Even though it was annoying, the last thing he wanted was to argue. Carefully he picked up his bag and followed the man who had a close eye on him like he was going to run away.

* * *

"Come in." The dark voice called out irritatingly to the knocking on the door and in stepped the man he knew only too well. He motioned for him to sit down. "And what can I do for you this time Brooklyn?" He asked in an annoyed voice.

That said person closed the door behind him but decided to remain standing. With his straight posture he cleared his throat. "I'm taking care of the problem. He will not even be able to get pass the check-in at the airport." His hand slipped unconsciously inside his pockets to seem unaffected.

But Claude just looked at him incredulously. "You came all the way here just to tell me that? I don't believe you. Why are you here?" Tapping his fingers on his desk in impatience the patter seemed to almost echo in the silence. It took a few seconds for Brooklyn to answer and when it did his voice was low, though its edge was far from gone

"You know that favor that you owe me?"

The pattering stopped immediately. Claude shuffled the center of gravity around and straightened his posture as well. He tended to let Brooklyn see the lazy side of him as he trusted the red head completely, but now it was different. This time it was business. He looked into those pale ice blue eyes to read him and found this calm lazy feeling that almost seemed gentle, but Claude knew better. "What about it?"

Brooklyn took out his hands from his pockets again. "Boss, I need help with something."

"And why should I help you? You have your mission cut out for you. I suggest you tend to that instead."

"But you owe me one of many favors. And this will help you too in the long run." Claude waved his hand to tell Brooklyn to continue, so he did. "I need you to fetch this particular key for me."

"You could just steal it yourself. Or pay someone else to do it for you. That way you don't need to waste a favor on such a simple task."

"You already know the guy." Brooklyn and Claude had a little staring contest for a few short moments where Claude still tried to read the other while Brooklyn almost looked innocent. It wasn't before long that Claude closed his eyes and sighed. In any situation more serious than this then he wouldn't have budged for the world, though this time he would let it slide. He opened his eyes again, slowly.

"Fine, I'll get you your key. When do you need it?"

"Asap." Brooklyn said shortly and simply. The boss nodded in response and entwined his fingers in front of his nose.

"You will get it later this evening. I'll call you when it's ready and will tell you where to get it." Claude leaned back in his important looking chair and waved away Brooklyn with one hand. "Now get the hell out of my sight. I have other things to do than to talk to you all day."

"Sure thing boss, just one last request…"

Claude sighed again and you hear the irritation drip from his voice. "Just spill it."

"Think you could fix me one F.B?"

"Of course I can. Now, Out! …before I throw you out!"

* * *

"There are questions concerning your identification, Mr. Kon." The man said as he motioned the raven to sit down by the only seat by the table. No lamp was on, the only light that came into the small room was from the spaces between the sun-blinds.

"Why is that, sir?" Rei looked around in the room. It was like taken from a cop movie. The only thing that was missing, was the huge spotlight in his face and the bad cop, good cop routine.

"We have strong suspicions that this passport..." He said and waved with his papers. "…is fake."

Rei's eyes widened. "That's impossible!"

"No not really. We have strong evidence that claims it to be so. If you're still persistent claiming to be Rei Kon. Then we won't have any other choice but to call the police for bigger investigation."

The raven looked around again to see if he could see a camera. To be in a joke talkshow would not be amusing after all shit he'd been through. He just wanted to go back home, damnit!

"I am no other than Rei Kon, a student from China! I've been here in six months trying out for a scholarship in gymnastics. I'm 19 years old… you know, this is ridiculous! Take a blood sample if you don't believe me! Anything! You can't possibly have other evidence, that's just bull!"

"I would take it easy with the foul language if I were you, it's not helping your situation right now." He man warned and took notes. Ray fell back into his seat.

"I'm sorry. But you have to believe me. Ask me anything, I can answer it all!"

"You say we can identify you with a blood sample. Have you been given your blood to any hospital during your stay?"

"Um…no. I've been at the school nurse many times, but not the hospital itself." He said.

The only blood he had given out was not voluntary and it was to gang members from the underworld. Not a reliable source right now.

"Have you been visiting any hospital at all during your stay? You seem to have a wound in your face." The man observed.

"I.. I walked into the door. And no, I haven't had any medical treatment during my stay." He said and felt how his confidence fell slowly but surely.

"Have you been visiting a dentist?"

"No…" Oh god, he was screwed.

"So you have not been at any kind of place that could confirm your identity."

"...No, but that doesn't mean that I'm lying to you."

"How do you explain that Rei Kon changed his plane ticket and left this morning with this ID?"

The news hit him like another blow to the head. "W-h…" He couldn't come up with an answer. Thoughts were spinning in his head and he felt how he was starting to breathe heavily.

"I'm asking you again; Do you have anyone who can confirm that you are Rei Kon?"

He tried to think so fast that it was all a blurr.

"Yes, the principal at my school can confirm that I'm Rei Kon." He said.

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to help unfortunately. The thing is, young man. We are not denying that you have been attending school during these six month. The question is; Did you come into this country under a false identity as Rei Kon. We currently have two people claiming to be him."

"Is it just me or isn't the other person who left this morning suspect at all? I mean, isn't his absence a sign that he could be guilty of false identification?"

"You were about to leave too…what does that make you?" He said with a smile.

´Well, there goes my career as a lawyer.´ He thought and decided to say no more. These questions were still so new to him. He wanted to hit a button named _PAUS_E and collect his thoughts. All he was doing now was to make his situation worse by giving half- answers.

"I think we both can agree at least that this conversation is over. An escort will be here shortly to take you down to the police station."

Rei couldn't believe this was happening when the door calmly closed. What was going on? How could anyone get hold of his identity information? He hid his face in his hands and let his shoulder fall in a depressed posture. This nightmare would never end. What was he supposed to do now? Call Tyson? He could really see the irony in that phone call. His friend would not believe him. They would never believe that someone could be that cursed of bad luck.

But he was convinced that he was when the door opened again. A tall blonde man with beard looked at him with cold eyes. He was dressed in blue police uniform and a matching cap with a logo in it.

"I'm here to take you into custody. Please come with me."

Defeated the boy got up from his seat and followed the man out. They passed the brown haired girl by the desk and she looked at him with sympathy for a while before going back to her work. Rei felt ashamed even though he knew he hadn't done anything wrong this time.

The Manager put down the phone after the call to the police station and walked over to the brown haired girl and leaned back on the desk.

"The police will be here any minute." He said as he waved to a passing guard. "I will have Ronald to look after him until then." The brown haired girl looked at him with a frown.

"But he..?"

The Manager looked at her. "What?"

"He already left. He passed here thirty seconds ago."

The man's eyes widened and he yelled to the guard as he threw him the pass port. "Stop this boy. He cannot leave the airport! To the parking lot, quickly!"

Rei looked at the black car with painted windows before him as the police officer unlocked it with a remote. He was happy that it was a civil car. A real police car would make him feel even more like a criminal. The guard opened the door to the back seat and motioned him to get in.

The air swept by him and made his hair dance for a second. It felt like this was the last time he would be free. What a failure…

"Stop right there!" Came a call from the air port entrance. He turned around and saw a new guard running towards him with a passport in his hands. The man's expression was serious and angry like he had done something more wrong. "Don't you move, or I'll shoot!" He yelled and put his hand on his belt where his gun was.

"What now…!" His eyes widened as a big hand clamped over his mouth and he was lifted from the ground violently making him drop his bag on the ground. He tried to scream as he kicked to get free but it all happened too fast for him to get any kind of control. The police man took a step forward and literally threw him inside the car and slammed the door shut.

"No, no NO! You've got to be fricking kidding me!" He screamed hysterically the moment he was released and kicked with all his might at the locked door.

After a few kicks he gave up and he looked around in the car for some kind of explanation.

All kinds of thought went through his mind. Was this Brooklyn's doing? He had been an inch from the plane. An inch! Why couldn't they just let him leave! WHY!

With new panic he tried to yank at the door again but the result was the same as before.

Soon the other door to the front seat was opened and closed quickly and Rei glared at him. The guard from outside was screaming at them to stop and even fired two shots at the car making him duck down as the vehicle drove away.

"Who are you! What do you want from me!" He screamed in his crouching position as he now had been thrown into another shitty situation.

The blue eyed man was looking at him through the mirror like nothing was wrong. "Your questions will be answered soon."

Not satisfied with the answer he looked around for some kind of help but it was useless and he leaned back in the seat in defeat. It was an iron net between him and the driver making it impossible to escape in the front. His lost bag was lying in the passage seat next to the driver. Soon he felt his hands shake and the old feeling that his life was in danger had begun once more.

It felt like he was trapped inside the car for hours. The windows were so black that it was difficult to look out. He pulled up his knees and hugged them in an attempt to feel safe. He was so deep in his thought that he almost missed that the car came to a halt and the driver left him inside. His eyes followed the driver as he walked around to the back of the car and saw him pull out a cellphone. The call didn't last long and the driver just seemed to be waiting for something… and waited they did… for hours.

* * *

The three shadows were very quiet in the room. And had been for some time now.

Tala sat on the small table, fiddling with his black whip, looking over it for any kind of damage. His mind was troubled by his comrade's silence. They both knew what needed to be said, yet no one said anything and the waiting did it worse. Their comrade on the outside could only be contacted after dark. That was the rules.

The person in the crew that he hated most in the world was glaring out through the window where he sat on the window sill. He was of course not going to say anything, because of his stubbornness. Even if he actually agreed with him for once, he was too proud to admit it.

Then it was their brave leader who was sitting by the computer. Since the decision he had not spoken a word and the red head had never seen him like this before. He could only think of two things. One, Kai was so deep in his thoughts because he was planning the next attack, or two. He also thought that bringing the kid back was wrong and he felt bad for it. He would be a really surprised if that was the reason. Anyhow Tala couldn't read him.

He looked down at the floor. He knew that if anyone in this room was going to spoke up then it was him. A small part of him wanted to, and the other didn't feel he should care. Why bother to care… about anything or anyone. It wasn't his business what happened on the other side.

Without realizing his lips had suddenly spoken.

"This is wrong."

"Shut up Tal." The falcon muttered as his eyes looked over to his leader who lowered his head as if to block them out. The atmosphere grew tenser in seconds.

"We don't need the kid. What do we gain in bringing him back…"

"We are gaining more information. He is the only link we have to the scumbags' hideout and we need that!" Bryan growled and turned to the other who was not affected by the glare.

"Think about it for once Bry. We are messing up the kid's life only to get some information he might not even have. Don't you remember how terrified he was last time? He wanted to live so bad that he told us everything he knew!"

"And how do _you_ know that?" He said as he jumped down from the window and stopped before the red head. "Do you know him Tala, why do you care so much for him?"

"I don't. You are so stupid" Was the remark before he looked over Bryan shoulder for Kai. The leader's body language was even tenser now.

"Kai, you talked to him after we left. Are you really sure that he knew more than what he gave us. We might screw his life up for this."

Bryan snorted. "And what kind of life would that be? In this sick city, I´d say we do him a favor by putting an end to his misery."

"You talk about something that you know nothing of! We have no right to judge them. Look at us!"

"Are you saying that you rather want to live a life like him? Weak? defenceless?

Well now when you say it, maybe you miss those days Tala. Maybe I have to wake you up from you sweet little daydream about those days…."

"Bryan…" Kai spoked for the first time but it fell to deaf ears.

"Shut up Bry, I'm warning you." The red head hissed and got down from the table to meet his comrade in a glaring contest.

Bryan didn't budge for a second. "You are? One could think you missed your old happy life. Tell me, are you that eager to take a swim again, cause I could take you down to the harbor one night and fulfill your wish…."

"I said; Shut your mouth!" He screamed out as the words triggered the memories came back to his mind.

"Maybe you wouldn't be that fast in protecting the kid's life story if you remember how it was to almost sleep with the fishes."

"Bryan, that _is_ enough!" Kai said and got up from his seat by the computer but he didn't have time to do anything else as the falcon crashed to the floor with loud impact. Tala was leaning slightly forward after the punch he just delivered and was panting in anger. Since he didn't feel better yet he stepped forward to beat his comrade again only to have the leader to grab hold of him to prevent it from happening.

As the lighter shadow struggled to get free and cursed at the glaring falcon on the floor who was screaming back provokingly, Kai snapped and threw the redhead against the table with quite a force.

"I will not tell you two again. Do not question my decision about the stranger!" He yelled at Tala and then turned to Bryan who had already got up to his feet and held his jaw. "And do not dig up the fucking past one more time like that!" Kai saw that Bryan held his jaw but he didn't put any attention to it. "I have almost reached my limit for today, do you hear that. Now, shut the fuck up both of you until it's time!" He growled and kicked the chair he had been sitting on.

The phone suddenly broke through the tension in the room. Kai flipped it open and just listened on the news.

Rei woke up by footsteps outside. Had he really fallen asleep? How long had he been in there? Fear struck him once more and he crawled over to the other side of the car as he saw the other outside. Soon the door came open and the blonde so-called-police looked at him.

"Take it easy now." He said and waved him over. Reluctantly he obeyed thinking he would be able to escape before his and Brooklyn's next meeting. "Turn around and put you hands behind your back."

After a silent three second staring contest, he carefully he did and jumped slightly as his wrists was caught in metal handcuffs, making his plan a bit more difficult.

´This guy does a very good job in acting like a cop. He has the right car, clothes and weapons. What is going on?´ He thought suspiciously to himself.

Before he got a chance to ask anything a big black fabric sack was pulled over his head, making him scream out in surprise. All light disappeared before his eyes and the sack was also tightened around his neck to prevent him to see the ground. He felt like he was going to his own execution this time and he felt his breathing became heavy again when he was pulled away from the vehicle. Cold wind met his body and the strong hands on his arms guided him with fast steps forward. Even though he earlier had time to look at his surroundings around the car, he couldn't determine what building he was being led to.

When he was halted a door opened before him and he was pushed inside. He had some difficulties with the stairs as he couldn't concentrate with so much distress overwhelming his mind.

He didn't even know what floor he was on when another door opened and he was forced inside. The room was quiet, probably empty he thought and he heard the door being locked behind him. It didn't matter, he knew he wasn't going to be able to escape this time. With depression coming over him, he let himself fall to the floor on his knees and waited for something to happen with head and shoulders.

The group of now four was staring at the captive. It was not a strong person who was sitting before them. The body language told them that the kid had given up on everything. Something that woke up bad memories within all of them. The leader of the group couldn't stand the feelings that he suddenly felt and nodded to the blonde.

Rei flinched as the sack was pulled off but he kept his eyes closed anyway.

"Long time no see." The redhead said as he jumped down from the window sill where his comrade had been sitting before and approached him.

As now footsteps drew near, Rei's head flew up. "No way…" He looked at them one by one with confused and slight worried eyes. Even though he tried to avoid looking at the violent guy with the leash. Questions were spinning in his head. He could only think of one reason why he was there.

"I haven't told anyone what happened, no one knows about you, I swear." He said with a failing steady voice.

"If we had reason to believe that, then you would have been dead now."

"Then…what?" He asked and sat down on the floor, feeling this was too much for him right now. "Can I ask? Were you part of this group all along?" He asked and looked at the tall member of the awkward team. To his surprise the blonde pulled away a perfect copy of real beard. So this guy was simply…. a person like the rest of them? An actor?

The guy didn't even answer his question, he seemed to just want to stay in the background. Despite the look from the raven the blonde walked over to the leader and whispered something to him, who nodded after a while in return.

"We don't have time for this." The guy with the dog collar said and moved forward making Rei get to his feet so fast, everyone was surprised. "What do you want?" The raven asked alarmingly.

"Information." The redhead answered again, just as simply.

"I told you everything I know last time." He said and backed away from the silver haired guy, who looked ready to attack him. His eyes were insane, like a mental patient from a scary movie.

"I'll be the judge of that." The psycho said and pointed at a chair. "Either you sit down there and start talking, or I put you in that chair, break something on you, and then force out the information anyway. How is it gonna be?"

Rei wanted to suggest a third option but thought better of it and sat down.

"As I said. The principal tricked me and took back the scholarship that had been unofficially promised to me. Brooklyn approached me later and said that he knew about my problem. He offered me a fake ID or a green card so I could stay in New York a little while longer to look for a trainer."

"What do you train?" The redhead asked.

"Gymnastics." He murmured before he continued. He wanted to get it all out so he could go. A least he hoped he could go. "When I asked him what he wanted in return, he first asked for cash for the ID and then he said that he was now helping me out, and some day I would help him out. It was then he told me about his boss. He said no name. But I was brought to that warehouse that night, and saw this crazy guy shoot the head off some guy." He stopped for a moment. The painful memory was something he wanted to forget. "That guy was insane… Brooklyn had informed him that I was the newest member of their crew."

"Did he say what kind of crew?"

"He just said that they ruled the underworld. And if I was loyal to them I would get protection."

"It seems to be right information. He was just another add to the gang, nothing more." The redhead said and moved away, clearly not interested in the conversation anymore.

"Is there something else?" the crazy one persisted.

"Um…no, I managed to run out and into the parking lot, when you guys showed up." The raven said, glad that the information part was over with.

"One last question. Does anyone know your contact with Brooklyn?" The leader said for the first time.

"Well…I.." Rei eyes widened. "Max and Tyson!" He looked up and all of them were looking back at him with no interest.

"They know I have been fighting with a red haired guy from school. I stayed with Tyson after you dropped me off. They think I already left with the plane, but what if Brooklyn haunts them down? He knows that they are my friends." He said with a frustrated tone and looked around. He couldn't help but to sigh at the situation. "There is so much in this that I don't know. Like who you guys are, what are your names?" He asked out of the blue. He thought he had met them enough times to know that. But maybe he was wrong.

The leader looked at the other two who didn't answer. He knew he needed the stranger's help so he had to give something. He didn't know why, but he suspected that Bryan wouldn't scare the raven forever. "This is Wolf and Falcon, I'm Phoenix." He said and motioned to Tala to continue the questions.

"Why do you think Brooklyn knows about this?" Rei gave his attention to the redhead he now knew was called Wolf. "We had it arrange for you to be picked up. Were there some problem?" The shadow asked the tall blonde who nodded.

"For some reason, I didn't find him at the gate. I had to fetch him from the interrogation room." The blonde stranger answered as he was leaning on the wall calmly.

The Falcon's face turned angry and he turned to the raven again. "I warned you, your little shit." Rei put his hands up to protect his face from the punch he was about to receive.

"Wait." Phoenix said calmly which made the guy come to a halt.

"I swear I didn't keep it from you. Ever since I arrived here, wherever here is, I have thought it was you who did it!"

"Did what!" Falcon growled as he grabbed the raven's shirt and shook him. "Answer quickly!"

"-Changed my passport so I couldn't go home! Someone stole my identity!"

The room fell quiet and Rei fell back in the chair as he was let go of. "I know it was Brooklyn. He must have let my ID been made anyway… which mean… he was coming for me as well." He said and looked at the leader. They both knew that the shadow had saved him a second time.

Kai felt himself go tense and for some reason he couldn't keep the eye contact. Hoping nobody would notice his distress he turned away from the raven.

"He does have a point. If Brooklyn failed to catch him now, everyone he knows is in danger." Wolf said and looked at his comrade. Bryan didn't say anything as the redhead started a brain storming. "Maybe we can use this to our advantage after all. They might think he is at the police station and if not they are looking for him."

"So we could split up and hunt down the hunters. They probably have small groups stationed outside the police station. The other two can search for the rest the best he can." Falcon said, joining him.

"Yeah, but instead of searching for him around the city; If they would want to find out where he was, where would they look?"

"Um…" all of them turned to Rei who unexpectedly got up from his seat. "What about my apartment? There is nothing there to find, but they don't know that." He said, completely surprised that he thought about it himself.

The 'cop' saluted to Phoenix. "My part here is done. Talk to you later." The leader nodded and let the blonde leave without a word.

"Alright it settled then." He said as nobody objected to Rei's comment. "Wolf, start up the car. We are going in for a hit."

Without a word the red head followed his blonde companion and closed the door behind him.

* * *

"So…"

Tala glanced at his comrade as they made their way down the stairs. "So?"

"The kid is in for a real mess it seems." The big guy never talked clear, the redhead was used to that. Spencer was the only one of them that still had a life outside the group. He was like a mentor too, to him at least. But always when he tried to teach them something he hinted stuff, so they could figure it out themselves. It was an annoying way of teaching.

"Yes he is." He answered simply, really not interested in the blonde's game.

"How is Kai doing?" Spencer asked despite Tala's lack of response. He had noticed the leader had been in a bad mood.

"I guess he is disappointed in himself for how this turned out. It's been awhile since we were so close in catching that French creep."

"Which lead us back to the kid."

"Alright Spence." Tala stopped on one of the steps. "You got me. What about the kid?"

"How do you feel about him?" Spencer asked without a smile so it wasn't a joke.

"Nothing." He looked down for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "I…feel for him. Even when this is over, it will be hard for him to get his identity back. Unless you can…"

"I can't. The station is watching me already." He motioned for the other to continue. This was obviously a moment of annoying teaching.

"Then I guess… no. What are you thinking?" Tala said when he thought about it. "We will have to leave him, there is no other choice."

"That's why I'm talking to you. Listen Tal. I want you to look after him."

Tala's ice blue eyes grew wide as he couldn't comprehend the sentence. "What...?"

"After this mission is done, Rei will be all alone and he doesn't deserve that. I haven't spent so much time with him, but I recognize a good kid when I see one. Like I saw in you three."

Tala didn't believe that. He always thought Spencer felt pity on them and therefore had helped them through the years. They had a great friendship if that's what you call it, especially since Tala was the one who missed the living life most of all. Spencer has been a little window to that world. He had given him presents on his used to be birthday, and just other simple stuff like updating him what's going on out there.

"But the thing is, I will be forced to lie low for a while. I was seen at the airport while fetching him. So I won´t be able to help you for the time being." Spencer continued.

"Does Kai know that?"

"He will, soon enough. So, will you look after him."

"….Why me?" Tala muttered. "Why do you think I care?"

"Because you are the softer one…"

"I am what!" He growled quickly and added a curse not to speak of.

"Just listen before interrupting. Damn you have been spending too much time with Bryan. You language is getting worse." Spencer laughed at the expression of a death glare he got. "To be honest now, you are as soft as a rock, but out of all three of you….you are also the one who can think more steps ahead than those two stubborn shadows."

"What do think I can do for him?"

"For now, only what I asked. Just, look after him for me. We'll continue this discussion later on." The blonde smiled as the other hesitated. "I give you the latest number of the art magazine if you do." He added. And as he thought, it made Tala to react and he pushed passed him with a growl.

"Alright you bastard. You win."

The walk downstairs continued with Tala's curses and Spencer's laughing.

**TBC. **

**I already has next chapter ready because it's quite short, but I wait until I get response on this one. ^^ *hint hint* **

**And before anyone leave a review in my box that makes me fall of the chair laughing;**

**No, Brooklyn did not want a facebook! FB is something entirely different. **

**Cya! Sparkleshadowcat. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, Chapter seven is out, Enjoy!**

**BETA:**** Bonnie-San**

**Rating:**** M**

**Warning:**** Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **

**Paring:**** Kai/Ray. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer:**** Don't own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. ^^**

"**Talking"**

**`Thinking´**

"_Rei telling the story"_

**On with the story!**

_I didn't really know what to expect of the mission they were heading out to do. But it was a scary feeling to be the bait for Brooklyn's gang. At that point, I really thought I'd already lost everything. I had been wrong many times before and this time I was wrong again. _

_I had yet to discover that I hadn't lost everything until this night had passed. _

Rei pulled the black cloak closer around himself. It wasn't really a cold night but he guessed he was freezing becaurse he was so nervous. He was sitting in the van again and this time without a blindfold so he could give directions back to his apartment, while trying to ignore the fact that Falcon had already ignored three red lights. Something he wasn't used to be a part of in traffic.

Feeling frustrated by the heavy silence he chose to break it to ease his nerves. "Am I supposed to do something once we arrive?"

"Yes, stay out of the way." The leader as he knew him said.

He didn't argue with that, why should he? He couldn't figure out who these three shadows were at all. First of all, why did they hunt Brooklyn's gang? Sure he was a criminal, but why did they spend their time playing heroes when it was so dangerous? Heroes weren't the right word either. He had seen them kill people. They were like criminals too…but …with a difference. Most of all he wanted to ask them about it. Have them tell him about themselves and their situation.

"Kid, if you not too busy, then a little more directions would be good." Was called from the driver's seat. He gave him the information and something turned in the raven's stomach when the van stopped at the beginning of his street.

"We walk the last bit." The leader said and pulled out his two swords from under his seat. Rei admired the shiny object before they disappeared under the black cloak. Wolf, next to him stretched for a while before opening the vehicle side door and motioned to the raven to follow him out. As Rei did, the redhead pulled up his hood and told him to keep it up.

After, they joined the other two shadows and together they walked towards the building using the darkness of the buildings as cover.

Feeling that he should at least be of some help he decided to give them an advice about the location. "There is an ally to the right there. The ladder leads to my living room window." He whispered. Nobody answered him but obviously the advice was pretty good because they followed his directions and turned right into the ally. The darkness consumed them completely and Rei felt like it was only his footsteps that could be heard.

"Is this street always so quiet?" Wolf asked when they were in a safe distance from the ally opening. Rei shook his head. "No, by far not. There always seem to be some noise here. This block is for students after all."

"Which mean they have seen Brooklyn or someone else nearby and decided to stay out of the way." Falcon concluded and looked at Kai who nodded in agreement. "Are we going to wait here or up there?" He then asked. Phoenix thought about it for a moment. "Let's take a look up there."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Wolf said and in a swift motion the leather wip flew out from under his cloak and got a perfekt grip on the ladder. He pulled it down to Falcon who was the first who started to climb with an impressive speed, Wolf was not far behind.

Rei hesitated and tensed as the leader looked at him. They both were thinking about what Rei should do now. "I never thought I would see this apartment again." He admitted. "It´s funny..I should be on my way home now, and yet I'm stuck here with a crazy gang member after me." A new silence fell upon them before he tried to laugh it off. "I really blame my principal you know." He said and showed his white fangs in a grin.

The leader said nothing but almost gently pushed him to the ladder. "It's not good if you stay here. Go." Rei nodded and was about to climb when a thought hit him.

"Hey, I'm really grateful that you haven't let Brooklyn get to me yet." He said and smiled again as the shadow before him didn't know how to respond. That was a first for him. After a moment of bewilderment he started the climb upwards while the momentarily stunned leader recovered and followed suit. "Like I said before, don't be in the way." He said with his cold mask back in place.

Rei stopped by his now open living room window and watched how Wolf and Falcon was starting to move around in the small area. A tap on his shoulder made him climb in himself to leave room for the leader. He couldn't see any changes from when he left for the airport. But on the other hand, a strange feeling was hanging in the air. Not feeling it was worth to mention though he walked over to the kitchen part and looked at the time. It showed almost ten. Had he really been at the shadow's hideout for so long?

Suddenly he saw changes in the three-man cell as the redhead made a handsign. He was looking through the eye in his front door. Somebody was out there and Rei felt himself go tense as Wolf held up five fingers.

This was like an action movie but in real life, and he wasn't ready to fight. All he wanted was to get out of there as quick as possible because he knew; if he would have to face Brooklyn again, he knew he would probably break and give up.

In the middle of his self pity he suddenly caught movement from his bedroom. At first he ignored it but then froze. His golden eyes looked around in the open area. Wolf by the door, that's 1. Crazy Falcon by the windows, that's 2. Phoenix by the bathroom… shit.

"There!" He called out a second to late. Phoenix didn't have time to swing his sword but manages to duck and deliver a hit that was heard over that whole apartment. Wolf backed away so he wouldn't get the door in his face when the gang members stormed in.

"So much for the strategy to surprise them." The readhead said and positioned himself back to back with Falcon who just nodded. Ray felt scared for their saftey when suddenly one gang member caught glance at him and fired a shot. In pure instinct he dove behind the counter and stayed down. His heart beat, plus additional gunshots, almost made him deaf and he expected the guy to come around the corner and finish him off but he never came. The shot had been the start signal and the apartment was now filled with the noise of things breaking and people breaking in. In the hallway, Ray's former neighbors were running down the stairs to get away from the gang fight. Without better judgment he dared to get up on his knees and peep over the counter to look at the scene.

Falcon hadn't even bothered to pick out his scythe, he settled with smashing in skulls. One he even grabbed and held over the back of the sofa before he broke his neck. The scene was sick and Rei felt more and more respect for the silver haired guy. Wolf was holding one in a strangling grip with his whip and kicking at another to keep him at bay. Phoenix didn't waste his swords, easily just cutting everyone who dared approach him. A strong scent of blood hit Rei's nose and his stomach churned at the unfamiliar odor. And it made the atmosphere even more gruesome.

Rei saw more and more people came running into his old apartment. Another now had seen him and he got down on the floor again. Knowing, he couldn't count on Phoenix this time, he opened the cabnet and pulled out a pan. With his pulse racing he waited until he saw the foot of the stranger and he slammed the pan down on it. He was lucky, the guy didn't wear combat boots like Phoenix and the others and he made a painful scream. Without thinking he got up and slammed the pan into his attacker's face with all strength he had. The gang member fell to the floor and remained unmoving. Rei stayed like that and looked at him, Afraid that he might had killed him.

A gun shot pulled him out from his thoughts and he fell to the floor again as the shot had miraculously hit the pan. He looked up in shock at the guy who took another aim at him and he hid his face in his arms. A gurling noise came instead and he looked up to see the guy pierced with a sword from behind. As the steel was pulled out the guy fell lifelessly down on the floor infront of him and Phoenix was standing proudly with the bloody weapon. How Rei could feel relieved about what just happened was beyond him but he was and he felt hope when Phoenix moved forward and grabbed his hand. "Move out." The leader commanded, knowing that Falcon and Wolf understood and he pulled Rei towards the window.

"What about the others?" Rei asked as he didn't want to climb down at first. "Go!" Phoenix hissed and made him move anyway. The raven jumped the last bit and looked up at the leader who was right behind him. Loud noises were still coming from the open window. The leader pushed him into the shadow and looked up too, expecting his teammates to come out. Instead something else happened.

A huge explosion shook that entire building and Phoenix instinctively pushed Rei down on the ground. The windows exploded and glas filled the ally and the street. Big flames of fire aimed for the sky before they started to climb on the building and smoke was quickly created.

Rei coughed as he was covered in dirt and glas and he looked up at the burning building, a foul smell became overwhelming. He was about to call out the question about the others but the leader interupted him with a scream of his own. "NO!"

**TBC.**

**Yes a cliffhanger, sorry but it wouldn't be me otherwise. **

**Hope post next chapter very soon, but my awesome beta is out of town so I don't know when yet. **

**Take care everybody, **

**Cya! Sparkleshadowcat. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, Chapter Eight is out, Enjoy!**

**BETA:**** Bonnie-San**

**Rating:**** M**

**Warning:**** Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **

**Paring:**** Kai/Ray. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer:**** Don't own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. ^^**

"**Talking"**

**`Thinking´**

"_Rei telling the story"_

**On with the story!**

The flames just kept getting bigger and bigger. All the screams that been heard before had gone silent. Smaller explosions from machines increased the fire even more and it was not much left of the building.

Rei watched how the cold mask had fallen from his savior and how the shadow leader was looking at every corner of the burning building for any signs of his comrades. He was yelling out things in another language as the panic inside him was getting the best of him. Suddenly he moved forward towards the ladder and Rei acted on pure instinct.

"Phoenix no, you can't go in again!" He screamed and grabbed the climbing shadow around the waist and yanked him down despite the other's protests. He was struggling to keep the leader away from the falling and burning objects and made it all the way to the wall on the other side of the alley before his arms were grabbed and his hold was yanked open. Phoenix was cursing angrily and with quite a force pushed the raven back, who harshly hit a trash container before landing on the ground.

Phoenix ran out towards the street to take a look at all possible escape routes of the building but just as he got outside of the alley he got stopped by something he didn't expect to see.

Across the street in a black Jeep, Brooklyn was standing on the loading platform and was looking pretty pleased with himself as their eyes met.

Out of rage the shadow started off to cross the street while pulling out his swords but was forced to jump back to avoid getting rammed by the fire truck. Feeling the eyes of the fireman who was driving he was forced to run into the ally again to avoid getting more attention.

Brooklyn obviously had the advantage since he could be out in the open, but the leader refused to let him get away like this. Not when he was so damn close. While he was thinking out a new strategy a window on the first floor was crushed which made him quickly turn around. Rei who had got up from the ground was also looking up as the two shadows were stumbling out from the smoke-filled apartment.

Wolf was carrying Falcon on his shoulders the first steps down the ladder before he frustratingly let it go. They both landed hard on the ground causing the wounded shadow to groan. Rei reached them first but was forcefully shoved to the ground again by the leader who talked fast in the foreign language to the red head who answered the best he could despite his coughing. Suppressing the irritation over being shoved aside Rei felt relief as he watched over the two shadows. Both Wolf's and Falcon's hoods were gone and it was coming smoke from Falcon's shirt but other than that they seemed fine.

Phoenix nodded his head as if agreeing on something Wolf had said. Falcon decided to join their conversation and asked something as well as he pointed at the street. The redhead let his leader take over his position as a support for Falcon and approached Rei.

"How?" Was all he could ask when the red head took his hand and helped him up.

"Let's go before the authorities gets here." He said. Rei nodded and was going to follow when he saw Phoenix daring him to take another step with his glare. Wolf talked back in their own tongue but Phoenix interrupted him and soon they were arguing while Falcon just waited for a decision. Despite Rei didn't know what they said, he had a pretty good guess.

"I'm not leaving him here alone." Wolf said finally in English and that was end of the discussion. The last thing Rei wanted to be was a burden for them, but he really didn't have anywhere to go. The leader growled but decided it was for the best right now. Without another word they all left the ally and quickly made it back to the van.

"Looks like we didn't get him." A brown haired guy said to his boss. Brooklyn looked almost amused when he saw the retreating shadows. "It's okay. It was worth it just to scare him a bit. It makes my missions in the future so much easier."

He took a last look at his burning masterpiece and then banged on the roof of the van, giving the signal to the driver to take them out of there.

"Where does it hurt?" The leader asked as he sat down before Falcon in the van.

"It doesn't." he answered stubbornly.

"Tell me now you idiot, you were almost down. Where does it hurt?"

"It doesn't, I'm just dizzy… It was a nice bang though." He said with a grin and leaned back to rest his eyes. Wolf turned around from the driver seat. "I think he has a concussion." He called out. Phoenix moved up his comrade's sleeve and took a look at the burns. With a quick movement he pulled out a medic kit from a hidden compartment under the seat and put some ointment on it. Rei made a face by the ugly burn and was impressed that Falcon didn't even flinch.

Feeling rather useless the raven moved away from the shadows and sat down beside red head in the front seat. "He doesn't want me here." He stated with a disappointed sigh.

"No." Wolf agreed.

"Where should I go? I can't put Tyson or Max in danger…." He said as he put on his seatbelt.

"You are coming with us." The shadow said and shifted gear. He was a much better driver than Falcon. Not that Rei dared to comment on that. Even a sleeping Falcon was probably a dangerous Falcon.

He looked out in the front window as police cars met them on their way towards his burning apartment building. He glanced at Wolf to see if he was reacting on the police cars but he didn't. "Are you hurt?" Rei asked him after a while in silence.

"No, I'm not." He said and was forced to stop by a red light. He called out to Phoenix. "Check his leg too. He got a bad hit when we were on the second floor."

Rei looked over the driver. His jacket ripped on his shoulder and bleeding cuts and bruises from the area that showed some skin.

"Yes you are hurt. Let me at least help you…" He said and reached over towards the other who pulled away his arm quickly as much as he could. Rei flinched at the sudden gesture.

"If you want to keep that arm, don't touch me." Wolf growled and Rei turned away from him making the shadow sigh in frustration.

"Look…" He tried again after a while. "It's just cuts and bruises. Be careful with what you do around us. We are not like other people you know. We are suspicious to almost everything."

Rei nodded in understanding. He knew he shouldn't push any limits but it was getting harder to do since he was very tired of getting pushed around. He felt like everything he did was wrong. The engine roared when the light turned green and they were on the road again.

The Chinese felt bad for all this. He didn't want to cause problems for the group who had saved him and now he was doing exactly that. He was such a burden and Phoenix was mad at him for it. Shame overwhelmed him for a moment and he leaned forward to rest his head on the panel. He just wanted to go home. Everything felt so useless now. "Wolf…" He said without looking up." Just drop me off. I don't care anymore."

"I told you, you are coming with us."

Golden eyes met ice blue for a short second before the blue ones turned back to the road. "But Phoenix…"

"I'm not leaving you like this. Take it as you like, but he will have to deal with it until I can talk to Spencer."

"Is Spencer the big guy, I thought Phoenix was the leader?"

"Spencer is a cop. He can help from the other side."

Rei frowned. "Other side of what?" He almost regretted that he asked that when he saw how Wolf's expression changed. He looked almost sad for a moment, but it quickly changed back again to his strong façade. "From the land of the living." He answered simply.

Where had he heard that before? …Then it hit him. Phoenix had told him that the day they dropped him off. What did that mean?

"If someone can help you it's Spencer. I'm gonna make sure you get a fair chance." The redhead finished the discussion. Rei hesitated for a moment but choose to drop it. "Thank you."

The driver glanced at his smile and quickly turned his eyes to the road again. Rei was also wondering why they didn't like it when he smiled. Just one of many questions. Was he ever gonna get some answers about this gang?

Rei was surprised when the van turned into a gateway. This was not the same place he known from before. The door of the van was slammed shut, making him jump slightly and he looked into the side mirror to see Phoenix close the gate after them. Wolf simply parked the van and stepped out. Raven wondered why they left the car so in the open. Could this whole area be theirs?

It was a rounded wall of stone with only one road in through a little tunnel. On top of the wall lay the apartment building. A single door seemed to lead up there. It was placed on the left when you came in from the tunnel. The building was built out of brown, old looking wood and had dirty windows that showed three levels. The stonewalls had green plants climbing up it.

"Is this your private hideout?"

"One of them." Wolf answered but said no more when Phoenix glared at him and walked into the door that lead to the house. "Keep out of his way." The redhead instructed as he walked to the back of the vehicle.

Ray followed carefully but stopped when he heard Wolf talk in that language again. He dared to ask. "What is that?"

"Russian." The red head said and tapped his comrade lightly on the head to get him to wake up. "You shouldn't sleep if you have a concussion." He said but he was only shoved away by the other. Rei thought it was nice that the shadow cared about the falcon. He didn't know why but it seemed like these two shared something special. But Wolf's patience ran out and he slapped Bryan over the head much harder.

"Fine! Sleep…die, see if I care!"

Rei's mouth fell open at the statement and he just looked at the redhead as he passed him. Wolf saw it and glared at him. "What?"

"N-nothing." He said and turned away, not interested to get in the middle of it.

* * *

An hour later he was placed on a sofa. The moonlight was clearly visible from the window. It was as beautiful as it was back home in China despite that he had a hard time seeing the stars. He hoped that Spencer would stop by the next day. He hated being in the way here. He didn't even know where 'here' was. This place was much bigger than the last. It wasn't a one room apartment, it was a whole building. He had looked into some rooms before lying down on the sofa, and it had looked like old classrooms. But he wasn't so sure, after all, he had other things on his mind.

He had decided that he would do whatever Spencer asked of him. It was the only chance he had to get back home. Even if he was going to take his punishment for the fake ID plan.

The sofa he was lying on was placed under the window in the room with the kitchen area. Even though he should be prepared that the others used this room too he jumped when Phoenix suddenly came in. The leader didn't notice him at first but quickly felt his presence and turned to him with eyes that looked like he could kill him with. Eyes that were so special. So full of hate and betrayal. And yet….they seemed to have potential to show… just something else.

After Phoenix had acknowledged him as no threat he simply ignored him and took some water in his hands from the tap.

"I'm sorry." Was heard from the corner. He turned off the water and leaned on the disk with crossed arms.

"For what?"

Rei looked down, "Because I'm a burden to you. I'm not trying to be."

The leader sighed and walked over to him. He didn't want to wake up the others. "Listen now, cause I'm only gonna say this once. You tried to stop me from going back inside that building."

Rei frowned. So that's what it was about? "I couldn't just let you go back into the flames…"

"I would die for them, do you understand!" The leader hissed and grabbed his arms painfully hard. "And if you don't understand that, then we will have a problem." He said and shook him harshly like Falcon had done before. "Do you understand!"

"Yes!" Rei hissed in pain and tried to pull away. "I understand, let go ok!"

"Don't ever try to get in my way again. I hope I won't see you here tomorrow." He said and let him go so suddenly making the raven stumble to regain his balance. As the leader was going to leave him like this Rei made his own intentions clear.

"Phoenix, I won't be. I just have to talk with Spencer and you won't see me again… Look.. I… thank you for everything you've done for me. I will always remember it."

The shadow stopped. There it was again. Gratitude. It was so rare in his world. But… lately he seemed to be connecting that emotion with Rei. He didn't know why. He decided to walk away again before he would think about it more closely.

Rei fell back on couch after the other left. He really felt like that guy was inhuman. There was no emotion in him at all. What could he possibly have been through to get like this?

* * *

_I stay__ed awake the rest of the long night, thinking about the questions around Phoenix… _

_The next day I was glad that Spencer came __over for a visit. My words to Phoenix had not changed his mood, but lucky for me, Spencer didn't ask anything about it. We all met for a new meeting outside in the yard. _

_.  
_

"I read the paper. Was it Claude who did it, or did you two have a new fit?" He asked Falcon and Wolf. The silver haired one, who sat on the hood, smirked at the comment. You couldn't see what Wolf did, he was partly under the van, fixing something.

Phoenix was leaning on the stone wall with a cigarette in his mouth. Spencer turned page and looked for some more information but gave up shortly after. "Did you get any new info?"

Phoenix answered in Russian, much to Rei's dismay but he didn't show it. He was sitting on a pile of wooden pallets by the door just waiting for his turn to talk with Spencer.

"Yeah, you are probably right. But we could always go through the old places again. He can't have so many hideouts that he never come back to them. We have his pattern." He said in English like he wanted to include the Chinese.

"It will take some good planning. I'll soon need new parts if you want this baby rolling." Wolf interrupted and rolled out from under the car on a mechanic board.

"The thing is Phoenix. The French escargot will soon look for us too. We have ruined many great deals for him these last years." Falcon put in. "Soon we are not the only hunters… and I like it."

"Just like you liked the fire last night? You were not easy to get out. The devil loves the fire." Wolf smirked.

"What happened?" Spencer asked.

"They were caught in the explosion. Lucky for me, they are too stubborn to die." The leader said and put out the end of the cigarette under his shoe. "It's too difficult to find hard working people these days…"

"Yeah, lucky for you, you didn't lose any manpower, bastard." Falcon said with a snort. Rei wanted to put in how worried Phoenix actually had been, but he didn't dare. Instead Falcon turned to Spencer. "We were in the entrance when the explosion went off. Threw us down at least two levels."

"I don't need to worry that you will start getting hurt soon right? Because I have enough on my conscience already."

"You could always join us, full time. No bills or insurance problems." Wolf said.

Spencer went serious. "Did you pitch that to the kid. Is he ready yet?"

All in the group went silent and soon looked over to the already silent one. Ray tensed and looked back with fear and suspicion. "What?"

Spencer sighed. "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you Rei. The person who is currently in China in your name can't be found. Which mean, you have nothing to prove that you are Rei Kon."

Rei jumped down from his seat. "What do you mean? You sound just like that man at the airport. I still have evidence! I have my passport. The Real passport!"

"The fake passport he used was just as good. The airport personnel couldn't find any errors on it. So yours is not enough evidence that can help."

"But what the fu…" He said but halted to compose himself. He thought for a moment and soon started to sweat. "I have…maybe….shit…Yes! The principal can testify that I'm me." He said with a hopeful smile. Surely these guys would buy it better than the airport staff.

"I thought you said that he screw you over on that Scholarship?" Wolf said. "He will not let that rich school ruin their reputation by a poor student from Asia. And second, after he get the information about you having an identity problem he might think you came here with a false identity in the first place. He will not be to any help."

Phoenix started to glare.

"So what can I do Spencer? I haven't been at the hospital either. I have no identifications in New York."

"Spencer." Phoenix warned with a hissing tone.

"And you can't get hold of your family?"

"In China? First of all they don't expect me back for another 2 years and secondly... Shit, this is starting to freak me out. Can't you do something to help me Spencer? I would be ever so grateful…"

"The thing is Rei, you can't go out there. You are wanted by the police. You are a John Doe with a record for false identification. You'll go to jail if they catch you."

"How can I be wanted? I did not escape from the airport. I was kidna.… um… I mean, friendly 'convinced' to leave by you."

"Yes, therefore the arrest request."

"But it was not a crime. You are a cop!"

"I wasn't there. I was not on duty, I was getting you for these guys. It can't get out there that I was involved."

"Spencer." Phoenix warned again more louder this time. Falcon and Wolf saw it and backed away a few steps.

Rei let out a frustrated shout. He finally reached his limit and he didn't care about being polite anymore. "How can I be a wanted criminal? For being fricking kidnapped? First the cruellest gang of the city want me dead, and now the authorities want me locked up!" He said and kicked the ground. "WHEN IS THIS NIGHTMARE GOING TO END!"

"I'm sorry." Spencer said in a calm tone. "There is nothing I can do.."

"THE HELL IT IS, YOU ARE NOT LEAVING HIM HERE!" Kai roared as he pushed Rei aside. His yell made them all jump. He approached the tall one with rage, finally had he figuring out the thought behind his comrades behavior.

Rei glared at the leader for the push but then the words sunk in. "Leaving me here!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Phoenix, there is no other way." Spencer tried to reason. "You have to understand… I.."

"You planned this. You knew he was screwed from the beginning!" The leader growled.

"I'm screwed? Why am I screwed?" Ray yelled at them both but was ignored.

"He is NOT staying here! You are not turning him into one of us, I won't allow it!"

"Into one of you! I don't even know what that means!" the Chinese was hysterical. "Talk to me!" he yelled.

"Phoenix…" Spencer tried and held his ground. "It's unfortunate that it turned out this way, but he **is** one of you. Like it or not." Still not paying any attention to the raven who snapped.

"I MAY HAVE BEEN ROBBED OF MY NAME, BUT I'M STILL ALIVE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU MEAN!" Rei screamed.

"Yeah, at the moment." Wolf commented calmly to his comrade next to him as he was witnessing the discussion from the side line.

Falcon whistled as he was impressed. "Didn't think that little kid could get so worked up."

"This is nobody's fault, but you have to listen to me…" Spencer tried again.

"No, I don't _have_ to do anything. I'm the leader here and you can't recruit people to this group. There is no membership to the dead! No, you have to fix this. NOW!"

That was the last straw. Spencer stretched to his fullest hight and screamed back. "What do you expect me to do, except of what I already have! I've tried to save him, but I'm sitting on information about him that I'm not even supposed to have. There are no strings I can pull this time without getting caught. Is that what you want! You want me to lose everything and do you want the authorities to start follow leads through me to find out about you three!"

Phoenix was shaking with anger, his crimson eyes looked even more red now when he was this unstable. He couldn't even think about the request Spencer asked of him. It was impossible. He would not destroy another life. Not trusting his voice anymore he managed to hiss out the last words; "Fix it." He turned around and was going to retreat to calm down.

Spencer growled and drew his weapon. "No, leader. You fix it!"

The leader turned around in the last minute and got the black weapon thrown hard in his chest. He caught it in his hands before it could touch the ground.

"Go ahead, shot him," Spencer yelled and pointed at Rei who froze on his spot. "And end his misery then."

The shadow glared. "Maybe I will!" He said, ready to play the cops game. He unhooked the safety clasp on the gun and took aim at Rei's head who had suddenly lost his voice.

Both Falcon and Wolf stood like they wanted to interfere but for some reason they didn't.

"Just so we agree. I will not dispose of his body this time leader." Spencer said. "You are the only one who can help him cheat death. He has nothing left, just like Wolf and Falcon hadn't. Either you take him under your wings, or you send him to the next life. Can you do it Phoenix? Can you kill an innocent?"

Phoenix looked into Rei's eyes. The little shine that had been seen before were long gone. And no trace of a smile either. This was more recognizable; This was his world. Sorrow, fear of being killed, stares of suspicion and distrust. He could send Rei to the next life just out of pity. It was better than being stuck in this middle space, looking for revenge. Yes he could do it. All he had to do was to pull the trigger…. now.

The gun kept silent for a while and just when Rei thought he saw hesitation in Phoenix' eyes it turned to something he couldn't really identify and the gun fired a shot at the ground next to the athlete. Nobody moved, talked or even inhaled. After what felt like hours, Phoenix let the gun drop to the ground and started to walk away.

"That was so unnecessary. You know I have to fill out a report for that bullet right!" Spencer called out after him as the Russian leader slammed the door behind him.

Rei fell to the ground on his knees at the same time the door was slammed shut. A new near death experience was shaking his body. If this continued he would turn into an adrenalin junkie.

A rough hand fell on his shoulder making him jump. "Tough luck kid." Falcon said and walked passed him after the leader.

Rei's golden eyes followed before they widened and turned accusingly to Spencer.

"I'm sorry." The blonde said. "But I knew he wouldn't do it. Phoenix doesn't shoot the innocent."

"He shot his ass once." Wolf said and pointed after Falcon who entered the building.

"Like I said, he doesn't shoot the innocent." Spencer continued.

The redhead reached again down and pulled the shaken raven up to his feet. "Welcome to the pack then." He said awkwardly. He was never expecting a new comrade in the group. And certainly not a rookie like this. Spencer had been right. He would need all help he could get. He wasn't sure he could give it though.

Rei put the arms around himself. What had happened to him? Was he stuck in Phoenix' group now? But he didn't even know their real names... Though he wasn't sure that he wanted to know them. He didn't want to know anything important. He felt like he had been caught again. What did they expect of him? How was he going to get out of this one?

"What do I do now?" He murmured.

Spencer looked at the red head and motioned him to talk. He resisted at first but then gave in by the glare he got. Arguing with Spencer now was not a good idea since the blonde was in such a tricky situation and Phoenix had pissed him off already. "You could start with getting some rest." He said after a while of thinking. "When you are ready, come look for me. I'll teach you the rules and basics." With that the he also left them.

Rei's stare fell to the ground where the mark from the bullet had made impact and his tears started to fall freely. Spencer tried to comfort him, but the raven shook his head and asked to be left alone.

**TBC.**** End of Chapter. 8**

**Answers for reviews;**

Evil Kitty Dictator: O yes I did...^^ sorry! But here is the rest! Haha talk to you later!

Chaseha-Wing: yes you are right, you never know with those two. ^^ Thanks for the funny review.

**AN: Despite it will be a pain for my BETA I will ask her to look at my next chapter this week, so cross your fingers that she take the bait. ^^ If you want to do more than that to get this next chapter out...then I don't know..be nice to her...read her story. **

**Anyway, now w****ill things start to change here; Rei will really start to learn how to be a shadow, and what does that mean you wonder? He will learn his field, get his place in the group, choose a weapon and become a dependable comrade. If you have any ideas how this will evolve then write it in a review and tell me. ^^ **

**I hope to talk with you soon. Take care everyone, Cya!**

**Sparkleshadowcat. **


	9. Introduction: Find your own style!

**Chapter 9 Introduction; Find your own style!**

**A/N: Hello everyone, I'm finally home again! It feels like I've been away for years. The place I lived in was like the Balcolv Abby, No Joke! We are talking stonewalls, security-cameras, Entrance doors with passwords and regular inspections of the rooms. It was hell because it also lacked of hot Russians. **

**But I will not go further into that… **

**Anyway to get to the point; this story is finally starting to roll the way I want it and it feels good so far. I love the reviews from my loyal readers but I sometimes still missing a comment with deep thoughts that can help the story going even further. On another subject I also like to announce that I will add some scenes where Rei is not in the picture. I know that this is his story we are following but if we only see him, then we missing out some important leads. So here is the deal; Rei will not know the info in the added scenes, they will only be for the readers. With that done, I like to say: **

**On with the story! **

Later that afternoon, Spencer found the shaken up Chinese sitting on the same wooden pallet as before. He didn't look like much, just looking out in space until Spencer leaned on the wood. The police officer waited for the raven to start speaking with him. He knew it wasn't easy to comprehend with all this new information so he didn't want to push anything. So Spencer decided to wait him out instead since he wasn't comfortable with leaving him like this. After about five minutes he could hear small words from the other. "What is going to happen to me?" The raven said and closed his eyes in frustration, probably because he heard how weak his voice sounded.

The officer sighed; he didn't think Rei should be ashamed of his feelings. At least he had some. He knew he had to win the other's trust if this was going to work out. It was never easy to tell someone that his life was over. "It's up to you really. But I understand your shock."

Rei shook his head in denial. "How can you really understand? You still live your regular life. You are telling me that mine is over." Their eyes met for the first time and Spencer saw that the golden eyes of the other was red from crying. He had not seen tears in this area in years. It made him remember how ruined Phoenix and the others was today in comparison to Rei.

The raven noticed Spencer's observing and turned his head away again, it was obviously now that he didn't want to seem weak.

"It's an expression we use. But you are very much alive if you see the opportunities…" He started. He decided to make the best of the situation because this was not going very well…

"Ok, here is the thing is Rei" He said and got the other's attention again. "During this short time I've starting to like you and I want to give you a chance. As I see it, here is your situation; Brooklyn and Claude wants your head on a silver plate and has sent out the underworld after you. The New York Police is after you as their John Doe, since Brooklyn and Claude has stolen your identity. You can't go back home because you don't have your name anymore, and because some other guy is already in China under your name. And like that's not enough, you can't go anywhere here in the US because you have a warrant on you. Therefore I asked Phoenix to keep you in this gang and become like them. It's your best option if you want to stay out of jail and, most importantly, to stay alive. They can help you Rei. If you just let them."

The raven broke their stare and he looked into his lap. "I know all this Spencer. Believe me, I have been thinking about this for hours now…." He hissed but then bit his lip. He had either way admitted that Spencer was right. He had been given a second chance despite all trouble he had been through these last days. Maybe someone higher up wanted him to live on a little while longer after all…

"I'm sorry, it's not like I don't appreciate your help…" He said with a softer tone after thinking it over some more. "I-...I don't know how I will become like them…they seem so…different."

Spencer had to smile. "Yeah, you could say that. But don't be intimidated by them. Not Falcon either no matter how he behave. This is new to them too but don't be afraid to get to know them just because of that. To be honest, I think your presence will be good for them."

He laughed when Rei gave him a skeptical look. "No, I mean it! Remember this Rei; you can give them as much as they can give you. Wolf will appreciate it and I have asked him to train you alone this first time. It will certainly make things easier for you."

"Um…ok. I guess."

"Is there anything you want to know? I will tell you almost anything to make you feel better about this. It's the least I can do."

"Then tell me everything." Rei said and finally felt himself to calm down. He was tired, tired of feeling like a victim. If Spencer was really honest in giving him another chance at life: then he would fight for it. He had to make the best of the situation he had. At least he was somehow safe right now. It was a good sign. "Tell me everything about this gang..and you."

The blonde jumped up on the pallet and thought about what he was going to tell him. He wasn't ready for that kind of answer.

"I tell you what I can about the guys. The rest must come from them." He admitted. "This story takes us back quite a few years. My family was friends with Phoenix's parents when we were younger. After a tragic incident Phoenix was left an orphan. My parents tried to look after him after that but he was moving from orphanage to orphanage and it made it hard to keep in touch. My mother would have adopted him but our family seemed…unfit to do so."

Rei listened carefully. It seemed like he had been right, Phoenix had been through a bunch of things in this city. If he found out more then maybe he could figure out how he became this angry and violent. For some reason it was nice to listen about other's problems for a while instead of his own.

"Anyway, as he grew up, Phoenix felt like the authorities had failed him in many ways and in the end he faked his own death and became who he is today. I found him years later, or more correctly he found me. He had remembered our little friendship and he searched me out. He had even found out that I was just done with my police education and he came to my apartment one night like a shadow scaring the shit out of me." He laughed at Rei's expression. "After I calmed down, he made me an offer." He continued.

"About?" The raven pushed, as he was really in the story.

"He wanted me to help him get some kind of a life. Damn, I had thought he was dead for real and I felt very protective of him at the time. Like a little brother. That night he could have told me anything and I would have done it. He shared the story about his parents with me and that he had his goal. In return he offered information that could help in difficult cases.

My reaction was very uncertain which made him back down almost instantly. I admit that I was afraid to let him go by himself and in the end I managed to convince him that I would dedicate my life to help him. I had to; he wouldn't have trusted me otherwise. Today, to be honest; I don't think I know how much I promised back then."

"So you started at the academy because you wanted to become a man of the law, I'm guessing" Rei said and made gestures with his hands while talking. "And then you just threw that away for Phoenix and became part time criminal. What a sign of loyalty. I'm impressed."

"I felt like I had to. My family had moved and Phoenix didn't have anyone else. We didn't plan on becoming criminals and shadows…At least I didn't." He murmured.

"But Phoenix had planned it? What was this goal of his?"

Spencer thought about it for a moment but decided to tell him. "Revenge of his parents."

"Did he think the authorities had failed his parents too?"

"No, He simple wanted to get revenge on the man who killed them."

"They were murdered?" Rei asked with disbelief.

"You can say that's an understatement. Tortured and murdered in front of Phoenix's eyes."

A silence fell upon them as Rei was trying to take the information in. Spencer decided to continue before the Chinese came up with more personal questions about Phoenix's past.

"About fourteen months later we found Falcon, He had been fighting with some gang member for some well needed food leftovers. If I remember correctly he had been using a garbage lid… " Rei's eyes went big again as the blonde moved on;

"He didn't talk much about his past, not with me at least but I guess he talked to Phoenix about it. He joined us and I arranged for his death. During this time, I was starting to become a good police officer so I tried to take a little distance from Phoenix since he had Falcon to look after him. I guess I wanted to believe I could put my incidents behind me and continue as a full committed cop, but it didn't take long before I got a phone call one night and was forced to meet Phoenix and Falcon down the habour. They had saved a new damaged soul."

"Three guesses who." Rei put in with a careful smile. It was hard enough to see any light in this story.

"Wolf was in such a bad state. Some gang had beaten him to an inch from death and was going to drown him when Phoenix and Falcon had chosen to interfere. Phoenix asked me to fake his death as well. Something Wolf would have preferred not to."

"Why?"

"I don't want to give out too much information. Let Wolf tell you himself." He said and moved on again. "I have been helping them ever since and now it has been years. They are still together, going after Phoenix's goal and you are the new recruit."

"I don't really feel like I fit in…" He said but Spencer shook his head.

"Claude is the one Phoenix is after, Rei. You both have been on the bad side of him and you have that in common."

"But I'm not sure that I want him dead like Phoenix." Rei objected.

"No, but you don't want him to kill you either right? Phoenix can help you with that. Falcon and Wolf as well."

"It's all so much, you know. I have never heard of stuff like this. Gangs who are trying to killing each other while being chased by the police force. Among all these innocent people… how many has been caught in the cross fire?"

"Too many…" Spencer said and suddenly his eyes became dark. Rei studied him for a while as the blonde suddenly zooned out and Rei put his hand on the cop's shoulder, bringing him back to reality. "Are you ok?" the raven asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Spencer said and waved it off like it was nothing but Rei didn't buy it. It had been a very strong reaction. "Phoenix doesn't want that to happen. But he is too focused on Claude to do anything about it." The cop finished and stretched his arms. Rei choose to let it go for now but he was going to remember it for later.

"I hate to sound like a wimp, but it's scary. I doubt I can be to any help." He said instead and jumped down from the pallet.

"I think you will. More than you think. Give it a chance Rei. Is your best option right now."

The athlete couldn't do anything else than agree. With a forced smile he turned to the blonde.

"What am I supposed to do in the team?"

"Right now? Get some rest and talk to Wolf tomorrow. Good luck."

* * *

'What am I suppose to do in the team?'

Spencer smiled to himself when he got out of his car on the parking lot by the police station. He was sure that the raven would be fine. At least he told himself that that would be the case, he couldn't do anything about it even if he wouldn't.

He thanked the other police officer who held up the door for him as he entered the buildning to his job. As usual he met many people both with uniforms but also those without. Paperwork was the most common activity in the main building and this evning was no different.

The blonde officer took the stairs to his level and entered his office, giving a quick waive to his partner who was sitting by his desk reading. Spencer's own paperwork from the night before was waiting for him and he sat down in his wooden chair with a sigh. He took a minute to just look around. His wall that separated his office to the hallway was made of glass, which gave him a good look at people who passed his room. On his door, upper part glass and lower part wood, there was a sign. Right under his partner's name, he looked at the golden letters that spelled; _Spencer Petrov. _

He had worked really hard to get to this point. He was a good cop in NewYork City and his boss had been pleased with him from the start. No complaint that he could think of.

If they only knew his other side…

Some days, not every day, but some days…the bad ones, he couldn't help but wonder how far he would have been if Phoenix hadn't visit him that night. He knew that Rei must have picked up something earlier. Sometimes he couldn't hide the fact that he had lost things too.

Falcon and Wolf had noticed that his and Phoenix friendship had been a little strained lately but if even Rei had noticed, then it seemed like it was starting to get pretty bad.

He leaned back in his seat. He would not regret this; Phoenix would have to take care of things on his own right now. He couldn't help them much more…

"Hey, Petrov!"

Not with these nosy people around him. Too much was at stake.

He looked up to see the person who was on top of the list of nosy people, his colleague and rival, "Good evening to you too Jurgen." He said with a calm voice. Playing a mental game with this European required full attention. Especially these last couple of days. It seemed like the other cop had put much notice in his absence lately.

"You are in late tonight. Been busy?" The man said and leaned on the door frame. He was wearing the usual police uniform.

"Nah, just having a nice dinner that I didn't want to end." The blonde answered simply and smiled politetly. He knew that the other was trying to annoy him, and it wouldn't work this time either.

"Really? What did you eat?" Robert smirked back with as he stretched in a proud posture.

"Why, did you want to join me?" Spencer said and then laughed out loud to end the little game. "But really, did you want anything particular? Unlike you I have work to do."

"I'm curious; do you know anything about the fire last night two blocks from here?" Robert said before he was starting to get a little annoyed.

"Only what I read in the paper today." Spencer answered. He knew the other was looking for a question back like "_why would I?"_ or "_what are you implying?" _Just something, a reaction to the question that implied that he had something to hide. It was a classic interrogation tecnique. And the only thing that was annoying about it was that he really thought that Spencer would fall for it. Robert should have given him more credit than that.

"Of course. But anyway I thought I would fill you in. It doesn't seem to be an accident."

"Why would you say that?" Spencer asked and managed to look surprised. "In the newspaper I read that there were many students living in the building. Isn't that a common place where a fire would start?"

"There wasn't anything that could start a big fire like that so suddenly and witnesses state that they heard fighting and an explosion. We're still waiting for the full report though."

"Well, we should take a look at it then… when it's ready I mean." Spencer took three files from his desk. "If you don't have anything else to do until then, help me out with these cases. We have a missing girl, who is probably visiting her farther without telling her mother, we have a report about an assault in a pub from last Friday. And we have vandalism at a school. So we have something from each field if you are interested." He said and smirked at the annoyed face from the other. Robert wouldn't catch him with the hand in the cookie jar today, and they both knew it.

"Don't look so confident, one day I might take you up on the offer and join you on a case. Then we will see how much you will enjoy it."

"I'm sure we would have a thrill."

"I had a feeling I would find you here." Was heard from behind him and Robert stepped aside while rolling his eyes. In came another face that Spencer was very familiar with. But this wasn't as bad as Robert's.

"Hi Johnny." Spencer greeted the younger cop, glad that the previously conversation had ended. "I see you just arrived from the undercover mission."

The wine red haired cop smirked confidently and looked down on himself. "Yeah I have actually. But to be honest…it's not a bad look on me. But I'm sure you knew that already."

He was wearing torn blue jeans with chains hanging from his pockets, a dirty grey T-shirt and a black torn sleeveless jacket over it. His wine red hair was standing up with tons of products and he also wore a black bandana over his forehead.

"I must admit that you are carrying the look well." Spencer agreed with a nod. "But even if you didn't, I'm sure you are tough enough to fit in with the little drug sellers."

"Of course, all you need is a little attitude!" He said with a grin. "And many curses…" he added.

"Well if that was all, me and Petrov here were having a conversation." Roberts said and glared at the undercover agent.

"Well, I'm just handing in the report from last week." He said and waved with a white file in his hand and turned to Spencer again, totally ignoring Robert's hint to go away. "You would think the undercover job is all about adventure but last week was very dull. But I shouldn't complain I guess. I get to sleep late every morning. Drug teens don't start working until late afternoon."

"Why do you think the boss put you on that job? You are not dependible on a real job." Robert commented.

The red head turned to him with sudden flaming anger. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

Robert didn't like the voice level so he just backed a little. "For god sake, act a little more you age."

"You wouldn't last one day in my job you self-righteous ba…."

Spencer clapped his hands together to get them to calm down. His partner across the desk gave him a nod as thank you. He was still reading a report. "Alright let's not fight about it. We are all policemen here after all and there is enough job for all of us."

Robert said nothing making Johnny look between them. "What's going on?" He asked as the tension became heavier. The European just snorted before leaving the room, making the younger one to call out after him. "Go out and spread some car-tickets so you turn that frown upside-down!

"Well, he is obviously having one of those days." Johnny said as they didn't receive any reply and turned to Spencer. "Don't worry about it. I think he is a bit overworked."

"I won't, thanks Johnny."

"McGregor, I can't find your report on my desk!" They heard from down the hall.

The cop rolled his eyes and mimed a bad comment about his boss making Spencer to hold back a snicker. "I'm so glad I'm out on the field." He whispered.

"McGregor!"

"I'm coming!" He yelled back and nodded his farwell to his colleague. Spencer waved back and then leaned on his desk. He loved his job. He really liked his partners no matter how much they fought sometimes. They had all taken the same oath. To stand on the right side of the law, serve and protect. And yet… he was walking behind their backs helping out Phoenix with his revenge life.

He just didn't know how he felt about it anymore.

* * *

Rei's golden eyes slowly opened and a new wave of hopelessness came over him. Yesterday he had thought that the night before would be his last. And now… it was not. Far from it actually. He sat up in the sofa and looked around in the space. The dirty little kitchen section in the corner was empty. There was no food, no glasses, plates or nothing. Like nobody lived there. He really felt like a shadow already.

He knew that the others had other rooms, but he didn't know which ones. He didn't feel comfortable in knocking on their doors, since it's only day one…of many to come.

He decided to get up. His now dirty shirt was lying on the floor where he had left it the night before. "Lovely…" He muttered. He didn't know where his bag was…

The thought hit him as he sat down on the sofa again.

He cursed when he remembered that Spencer had grabbed him outside the airport and trown him into the car. He had dropped his bag then. It was gone.

"I guess I have to spend every other day in the washroom. If this place even has one." Right on cue, his eyes fell on a plastic bag by the door. It had not been there the night before. His curiousity took the best of him and he quietly walked over to it. There was a note on the top with his name on it.

_Rei, this is yours. _

_I'm sorry that I had to take your bag, I will probably need it to put out a false trail, nothing you should worry about. Here are all your belongings that were inside. It will surley come in handy. _

_Spencer. _

_Ps. Burn this note. _

"If there is a god, then bless you Spencer." He said and dug out a T-shirt and some black baggy pants. After a quick change of clothes he tied up his black waves of hair in a simple low ponytail and stretches his body.

"Ok, next task. Find Wolf." He said and opened the door to take a quick look out in the little hallway. He wanted to find the redhead without bother Phoenix. It's was his new tactic. Avoid the leader as much as he could. Phoenix needed time to process this new development as much as he did. And it was best if they both did that apart, so nobody got hurt. In this case Rei.

The hallway was empty and he was starting to run out of ideas. One last remain, look out in the yard. He walked over to the window. And what he found was not what he had hoped for. It wasn't Phoenix. It was Falcon. The madman was outside by himself and was the only one to ask since Spencer had left them. "Oboy, this will be good." He said and walked to the door.

Falcon was putting on the last piece of tape on his weapon. He was currently turned away from the door to the building but he smirked as he heard the newcomer long way before he came through the door.

"Excuse me, Falcon?" The raven said carefully.

He turned around quickly and threw out his arm and the extendable shaft of the scythe went for the Chinese. Rei saw the blade come at him and screamed as he closed his eyes and threw his arms up to his chest. He was expected to be pierced any moment but a click sound was heard and then he felt nothing. After what felt like a lifetime he dared to open his eyes and was met with Falcon's amusing expression. He then looked down.

The blade of the scythe was an inch from his chest. The handle had reached its end.

"Nice scream." The Russian said and laughed but the sound was almost empty; like it was learned. With a yank the scythe was withdrawn and he swinged it in a circle behind his back before putting it away. He got down on one knee to tie his shoelace.

Rei was still too shocked to move. If that handle had been any longer then he would have been… he didn't even want to think about it.

"Were you going to say something?" The Russian asked and looked up at him.

"I..I-don't remember…" He stuttered. He took a deep breath and chose his next words carefully. "Did I do something wrong, or did you just want to scare me?" He asked while trying to hide his frustration. He wasn't fond of the maniac's games.

"Well, I haven't heard the word _excuse me_ in years, so it was kind of entertaining, but yeah it was quite fun to scare you. You were lucky. It's good to have some luck in our profession."

"Luck? Did you want to stab me?" He asked in disbelief. Spencer had told him to trust his new teammates but this guy made it incredibly difficult.

"Don't worry, I was pretty sure that the distance was correct to avoid serious damage." That didn't answer the question. But Rei chose to leave it; he wouldn't win a confrontation anyway.

"Where is Wolf?"

The silver haired guy looked at him suspiciously at first but answered. "Go through that door and down the stairs. It's the first door around the corner."

Rei nodded and quickly made his way over to the door without looking back. Normally he would have said thank you but decided that it was best to not bother.

He walked down the steps in silence. He was still not sure what kind of training Wolf had in mind for him. Right now, he felt so useless that no matter what kind of training they had in mind, it wouldn't help. What reason did he have to become a shadow anyway? What did he need to find to keep going in life with nothing but bad memories and the task to mess with people's lives?

He stopped for a second to listen if his new comrade was making his presence known, but there was nothing. He continued around the corner and found an old door. Carefully he pulled the handle and looked inside. What he saw was not what he was expected.

The room was pitched black, except of a circle of fire.

Wolf was standing in the circle surronded by small candles, his eyes were closed and he looked really focused. His one sleeved leather jacket lay on the floor and his arms were covered in his black arm warmers. His green T-shirt was quite torn, probably very old.

Rei closed the door behind him silently and waited to be acknowledged.

A good five minutes passed by before the russian opened his iceblue eyes and his arm started to move, his whip went from right to left with both force and speed. The moment his arm went still two candles went out with a swift sound, if Rei had not seen the redhead's movements, he wouldn't have been able to tell which candle was put out first.

The other movement was even faster, Wolf's arm went forward, then over his head to the back, and ended with him turning around a lap and the candles was killed one by one. Smoke filled the air and the room went darker and darker.

The last candle that was left before the shadow gave him a dark silouette. He was standing before it, almost like he was staring it down. Like a duel, were the two participant hated each other. A moment more went by, before Wolf simply and undramaticly twisted his vrist and the last candle was put out.

Rei felt for the door behind him as the room went completely dark. If he hadn't actually seen Wolf just a moment before he would have guessed the room was empty. Not a sound was being made except for his own breathing. He wanted to call out to the other put decided against it. If Wolf wanted to meditate after his training, then he wouldn't be in the way.

Suddenly the light came on and he put his hand over his eyes of the sudden change. Did this room have a movement light sensor? His eyes came open after a second and he looked at the center were the red head was. Except for, he wasn't.

"Yo."

He jumped and held back a yell when Wolf was almost whispered in his ear. The guy was standing close, really close when Rei jumped back. He hadn't felt his presence at all. When did he move? He was just standing there, with the hand on a button next to the door. He seemed quite amused by Rei's reaction.

"I was going to ask you to turn the light on, but I guessed you wouldn't be able to find the button so…" the redhead said.

Rei was staring at him like he was crazy. He just shook his head and felt for his pulse. "How did you move so silently?"

Wolf then quickly rolled his eyes. "Hint; think shadow." He said and walked over to the candles again. Rei followed.

"That trick with the whip was impressive. Were you a lion tamer back in the days?"

"I have never had a job Rei. I died when I was 13."

"Oh…"

"But enough of that right now…after all, you're gonna stay a while." He said with a smirk almost like he was teasing him. Not enjoying the comment too much the raven dropped the subject.

"Listen, I…don't really know what you want me to do…."

"It's quite easy really; Falcon want you to go to hell, Phoenix want you not to be in in the way, and I want you to learn to take care of yourself, It's too much work to do my job AND to take care of you."

"And what is your job exactly? I know what Spencer told me, but if you just could be a little more specific."

"Our team works as much as any gang does in the underground market. We have clients who we, in exchange for payment, carry out assignments for. Believe it or not, we are not completely hidden from sight and our reputation comes not from killing people but from other things; we break into buildings were other people can't, we sell and deliver weapons and drugs. If we can we try to stay out from other people's business, it's the money we need to get by. We have our own goal that is the top priority."

"And where do I fit in in all this?" Rei asked.

"To be honest, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do with you. I am not a teacher of any kind. The only reason Spencer asked me, was because the other two would kill you within an hour." The redhead looked at the raven who already felt even more hopeless and he sighed in frustration. "I guess I can start by testing your abilities or something. You need to fit into our team and to do that we need to know what you can do."

Wolf approached Rei and the raven felt quite awkward when the red head walked around him and looked at him up and down. "What kind of person are you?" He said more to himself than to Rei.

The Chinese looked at him suspiciously. "The friendly and calm type."

Wolf didn't show any sign that he had heard him at first. But then, "Yeah, but we can fix that." He said and walked over to another door in the corner. "It's quite easy to see what your thing is, even if I hadn't known from before; you're an athletic which is good for us."

"What do you mean?"

Rei's eyes went to the ceiling and he spotted some rings hanging there. The same kind of rings that were being used in his last school. After the first sign more things started to make sense. This room was an old gymnastic hall. Even though it was a very old, dirty and torn hall it was really strange that he hadn't spotted it before.

Some of his thoughts was being confirmed about this building. This could have been an old school.

"As you can see; this room is not being used very often. Phoenix and Falcon is almost never here. But I'm sure almost all of the equipment could still work for you."

"You want me to start training in gymnastic again? Sorry; but I'm not really into that stuff anymore."

Tala put his hand on his hip and gave him a sour look. "Does it look like I care? Yes, you are going to work out with gymnastic again, and you are going to be as good as you were in that school. After that, we are going to make you even better. Face it Rei, you won't be any good with something else. This is your field."

Rei was not convinced about him still having a future in gymnastics. But he kept quiet about it as he helped Wolf to sweep the floor so they could work. It was showing improvement already. Wolf stopped when they had cleared the floor surface under the rings and that stripe of clean floor went from wall to wall now.

After some more complaining and useless discussion, Rei agreed to test the rings. But not before he had lowered them down to check if the lines were intact. After all, this was not the school he was used to and he didn't have any trampoline under him this time either. That sort of thing could really mess with someone's head.

Rei was actually surprised that the wolf waited patiently as he was testing the weight on the white circles he was holding in his hands and it took a while before he backed up to one of the walls and ran across the room before lifting from the floor. He wasted no time in swinging up his legs and held his feet up on the lines. His arms tensed by his weight but he was steady while he swung back. He looked down the floor and on Wolf.

"They seem ok."

"You seem ok, too."

Rei flipped over and landed on the floor without problem. "It's a little hard, without something soft under." He hinted.

"I maybe can fix something but until then, the floor will have to do."

"Thanks."

Wolf walked over and raised the rings even more. Rei could barely reach them now. "Do the same again, but run, jump and grab. I'll be back soon. Don't stop." He instructed and left the room.

* * *

The red head knew that his leader was in the room before he even entered the kitchen area in the main house. Because he felt a dark energy coming from the Phoenix's awful mood and he was right. Phoenix was talking on the phone when he entered. The crimson eyed shadow didn't acknowledge him at all as the red head walked over to the tap to drink a little water while ignoring the harsh words the leader was using in the phone in the Russian language.

He was going to go back when the leader grunted and reached out the phone to him. "Spencer wants to talk with you."

"I have nothing to report." He said at first but the leader gave him a glare. He glared back just as fiercly but yanked the phone out of his grip. "What? Yes… Yes…Yes, I am training him!

The wolf turned his back at the leader when he saw that Phoenix glanced at him. The leader had no say in this anyway.

"I told you that I would give him a fair chance and I am…but….no..I-… But what do you want me to promise you? That he is going to be that wall climbing hero Bug-man when he is done…what? Spiderman? Are you really arguring with me about names…stop laughing, screw you!" He said and clicked the phone and threw the cell back to the leader and left the room without a word.

* * *

Rei was hissing as he almost lost his grip but he managed to swing down before it happened. He quickly clapped his hands and tried to jump up again. With only strength this time he heaved himself up and rested his feet against the line. His arms were shaking after all attempts but he didn't want to stop before Wolf came back.

"You need more swing, you not even in motion right now." The readhead said as he came in.

"Alright, alright…" The raven said and jumped down to start over.

He ran up to the rings and jumped, this time he got a good grip on them both and he swinged quickly and threw up his legs when he was highest.

"Better! Now, keep that position until you stop." Wolf said and sat down on the floor. Rei succeeded with the first task.

"Next challenge. Get the line around your feet and let go with your hands."

"Huh?" Rei said as he didn't think he got it right.

"Is your upside down position affecting your hearing? Just do it. It will come a time where you going to need to work with you hands."

Thinking the redhead just wanted to see him struggle he made an attempt anyway. It took a while because the line was so tense by his weight, and he tried different ways before he succeded with one foot. He was going to do the same with the other but he slipped and his leg dropped down until he was hanging in one foot.

"Damnit! A little help please!" He yelled and held on with one hand besides his foot.

"Fix it." Wolf said simply.

Rei growled and tried to swing his leg up again and that caused his other foot to come loose. With a last curse he fell and slammed down on the floor with his back first. The air got blown out of his lungs and he felt like his back was broken. As he slowly began to regain his breathing he sat up and glared angrily at the wolf.

"You are dead." The other said.

"Thank you, I know that! That's why I'm here!"

"No, you just fell thirteen levels from the building down town. You are dead. Luckily this was not the real thing. Try again."

"You are joking!"

"What kind of humour do you have?"

"You could have helped me! Didn't you say that we are a team?"

"When you are in this situation, nobody will be there to help you. You don't like to fall to the floor? Then figure out a way to not fall to the floor. And if you do, figure out a way to fall to your advantage. This is your challenge Rei. You are the one who know this kind of stuff. All I can help you with is to think outside the box of the training you've done before. But all work has to come from you. This training is going to help you to take care of yourself, and therefore, you will have to learn how to think and move for yourself. Get to know youself on a whole new level."

Rei listened and took in what he said. It felt impossible at first but then he thought; Wolf must have done it and look how good he was right now. He was going to give it a real shot.

Some time later he did succeed with his assigned task in the rings and he kicked free his feet and landed gracefully on the floor. "I think I'm getting a hang of it."

"Fine, let see what more you can do."

And test him, Wolf did. That Rei had almost gotten the scholarship in gymnastics was not a coincidence. His fatigue and stamina was at elite level. He maybe wasn't the strongest fellow in the neighborhood, but he had speed, agility and a gracefulness to his movements making him quite unpredictable if he could learn how to use them to his advantage. All in all, wolf really appreciated the raw talent the raven had.

As the day turned into afternoon, Rei moved across the room freely to show his acrobatic motions. The raven added another backflip over the floor in his series of movements, making it into nine in total. He landed on his feet again and looked over at the Russian as he fixed his headband. "Did you want more turns?" He asked with a grin, slightly out of breath.

"It's enough. We continue after dinner."

"Ok, how do you get food anyway if you don't move around people?" He asked as they walked up to the other levels again before crossing the yard to the main building.

"We can move around people. But we don't go where there's a risk that we have to show identification. You don't have a social security number anymore so you always have to pay cash. It's okay to go and buy food, just avoid the cameras." Wolf said as he let Rei inside to the stairs and they started the first steps up to the kitchen area.

Rei shook his head. "There is so much to learn…"

"You have time to learn. If you feel insecure, then don't go out the first year."

"The first year? Tala… that's really depressing…"

It all happened so fast, Rei screamed out in shock as he was gripped in the neck and literally was slammed down on the steps. The red head was over him in a second.

"What the hell!" The raven yelled and gripped the hand who was clutching his throat.

"How do you know my name!" The shadow growled with intensity, he really looked like a mad wolf that would bite his head off.

"What do you mean, what did I do!" Rei hissed and tried to twist his body free but was pushed down firmly. "Stop squirming and answer the damn question, you said my name: How the hell did you know!"

Rei stopped his movement and thought about it. He wasn't aware that he had used Tala's name. Or how he did find out in the first place. But he did know it so… it was hard to think clearly in a situation like this.

"Spit it out!"

Rei hissed in pain as his back was pushed against the step under him and he called out; "Falcon said it!"

The angry stare of Tala turned to a confused one. "What?"

It wasn't like it was possible in his opinion. He couldn't take it in at first.

"First time we met, Falcon was asking me questions and he said you name! I guess I just remembered it from then." Rei said and managed to pull himself free since Tala had frozen on his spot.

Normally he would have taken that opportunity to go and hide but he stayed before him. "I can call you Wolf if you want, just forget that I said anything." He tried making the other to pull out from his thoughts.

"Answer the question next time and then I won't have to beat it out of you. C'mon, you must be hungry." The redhead suddenly said and started to walk.

The Chinese blinked in confusion. Next time? Hungry? The fight was over? Just like that…heck the guy really was like a wolf.

"Wolf you really have talent in cheering people up, you know." He muttered and followed him the last steps up.

"You think so?"

"No! I was being ironi…"

"So was I." Wolf finished and opened the door to the apartment kitchen. Falcon and Phoenix were already there. Rei couldn't help but to laugh at Wolf's comment but it disappeared when he saw Phoenix's eyes. Feeling very small he settled with just making his way quietly to the table and sat down. The fight must been heard from this room.

"So, I didn't know what you wanted, being so new and all. But I guessed a sallad. You seem like the type with that slim figure." Falcon said making Rei smile a little. "Sallad is fine. Thank you."

The Russian snorted. "Even though the kid has spent hours with you Red, he still talks like a polite person. I would have expected him to flip me off already."

"He will when he get to know you better. At this stage he still thinks you are scary." Wolf said and took a seat on top at the table with his sallad. Falcon sat down in the window and looked at him. "Is something wrong with you?" He asked with suspicion.

Phoenix was busy by the computer and ignored them.

"Not at all, by the way Rei." Wolf said and got the Chinese attention. "Meet Bryan Kuznetsov, 23 years old, originally from Russia and…"

"Red, what the hell!" the Falcon screamed out and got up from his seat very fast, making Rei's eyes widened as he felt a familiar pulse start again.

"**You** are hell, you told him my name!" Tala yelled back and pointed at the raven who froze on the spot. The falcon turned to him with a deathglare. "I did not tell you shit!" He said and looked like he was going to cross the table.

"No I didn't mean it like that. You didn't tell me, you said it out loud!" He said quickly and got to his feet, ready to run if necessary.

"Typical you to not keep your mouth shut!" Tala growled and shoved the other who did the same back. "I can shut you up!" Bryan yelled and then they were separated in seconds.

Rei watched how the leader suddenly was standing between them with both his swords at each of their throats, not in a threatening way just warningly. The raven hadn't even seen him move. He was so fast.

"Take it easy you two…" He said in a calm but yet emotionless tone. "Now… let's get this over with." He said and they all turned to Rei. "This is Tala Ivanov, Bryan Kuznetsov…I'm Kai Hiwatari." He said. "These names are not to be used outside our territory, so if you can't keep them to yourself, then don't use them."

"I understand." Rei said finally feeling that things might work out here. It had taken this long time to get their names, for how long would he have to wait before he would know about their pasts? For now, he knew he could be happy that Kai didn't show any open hostility towards him… not yet anyway.

Kai got the hint that he understood the situation and moved away from the position between his teammates.

"Spencer called a little while ago. Apparently the cops are not buying the story that the fire was an accident."

"Who cares what they think? We weren't seen, it's not our concern." Bryan said as he sat down by the table with his food.

"That may be true, but Spencer is probably going to have a hard time about it. We should try and give him some information to help him." Kai said. Rei eyed the leader and felt a slight relief that things between Spencer and Kai seemed to be fine again. Last time he saw them together they weren't exactly on best terms.

"But how can we help him without getting into the spotlight of the investigation? We don't know what they used to start the fire either." Tala said as he leaned on the edge of the table where Bryan sat.

"Think about it Tala, you should be able to figure it out. What were the clues before the fire?" The leader asked and looked at the red heads serious expression.

"There was no obvious odor from any gas. And nobody was holding a detonator what I could see. Since we weren't in the same room or even on the same floor it's difficult to say. It was a bigger effect than from a simple grenade." He said as he crossed his arms while he thought about the options left. "I don't think they had very much time to hide a big object, because they couldn't know beforehand that we would come through the window instead of Rei coming home alone. So they used the bomb as a last resort in hoping to finish him off."

Rei glared at the floor, the information was getting on his nerves. That they would kill innocent people, in this case the students that were living in the building just to kill him. What more were they cable of? How many were going to get hurt next time if they tried again?

"Except from the nice bang, I don't remember anything." Bryan said and pointed at his temple, referring to his concussion. Kai turned to Tala again. "There must be something else…"

"I'm telling you, I don't know, I don't even have enough info the draw a vague guess." Tala growled at the sight of Kai's frustration over his inability to conjure something up. "Why don't you try, oh fearless leader? What do you remember?"

"Yeah, did you see something from the outside?" Bryan said, also a little put off by Kai's attitude.

The Phoenix went silent and glared at the others. If he had any important facts to add he would have added them already. But then he thought of the fourth participant. "Fine, I'll try then." He snarled in a calmed impatience before grabbed a nearby chair and shoved it across the floor to the center of the room. On his way to it he quickly grabbed a hold of an unprepared Rei's neck and pulled him along to press him ungracefully down in the furniture.

"Hey-! Wha-?" Rei protested and defiantly met Kai's eyes when he fell down in the chair but he couldn't read the look. "You where there with me. I don't know more than you-"

"Stop your useless jabbering and listen carefully, I'm only gonna say this once." Kai threatened as he put a hand on top of Rei's head and roughly forced him to look forward.

"Close your eyes."

Reluctantly Rei did what he was told and crossed his arms to show his quiet disagreement to the idea. Unconsciously his foot also started to tap in his stress for the unknown task ahead. He just knew that this was a waste of time. They were way better at this than him so he wouldn't be able to help add anything.

"This is what we'll do, I present to you the picture and you fill in the gaps with your memory. Rei shivered slightly at feeling Kai's breath brush against his ear. It took him back to the moment when Kai had cornered him between his arms while interrogating him at the last hideout place. The close contact made him very uneasy, but yet the strong tune made him relax somehow. It was really strange. "Think back to that night Rei. Back to when we were to climb in to your room using the alley as an entry-point." Kai spoke to him and Rei could only nod, feeling almost hypnotized by Kai's presence and his smooth voice. "The group climbed the ladder to enter your apartment through the window." Again Rei nodded when the voice came to a halt. The picture became steadier and he could almost feel the stench of the alley creep up his nose once more. Everything else around him didn't matter any longer, just the image the Kai was presenting to him and his words that lead him further down the rabbit hole of the night before.

"We entered into the living room, I got that." Rei said with a low voice when he noticed that Kai wasn't going to continue.

Kai placed his hands on Rei's shoulders and noted that the raven had stopped tapping with his foot. Kai grinned in success. He had Rei were he wanted him. "It is empty and it is dark.-"

"No." Rei cut in. "Something is wrong. It's not empty. There are too many there. People shifting outside the door and then I see movements in my bedroom." He could feel the panic he felt at the time ghost up on him and he tensed profoundly, eyes shot open. "There!"

Kai continued the story. "A gunshot is heard and we are all surrounded, weapons are drawn. A big battle takes place inside your apartment."

Rei started to shake his head. "There are so many people…" His arms unfolded and he gripped a strong hold of his knees. " …I don't want to fight…"

"What do you do?"

"I hide behind the first best cover I can find, the kitchen counter." Rei's eyes flew across the room as his panic arose. It was getting harder to breathe. Suddenly he feels Kai's hand run over his eyes, closing them, and he unconsciously leaned back against the other for some kind of support.

"Don't use your eyes." Kai commanded. "The fight is progressing around you. Did you notice anything in particular?"

"Voices are everywhere… People are yelling at each other... My neighbors are running for their lives."

"Do you hear any orders being called out?"

"Just people screaming… I'm so scared." Rei's breath grew heavier and he bared his teeth. "A guy sees me."

"Does he tell you anything?"

"No, I immobilize him before he gets the chance. And a gunshot! He shot at me!"

"But I save you and pull you towards the window. Is anything out of the ordinary?"

".. So many people."

"Focus! Remember, is there anything that wasn't there before?"

"No."

"Do you hear something? Talk to me Rei! Describe the situation."

"I don't know. It's completely chaos!"

"Details. I need details." Kai got surprised when Rei's hand flew up to grab his arm holding Rei's eyes shut. But if it was to shove the hand away or to press it in place Kai was uncertain. It seemed like he needed some kind of support.

Rei still bared his fangs, showing of his white canine teeth and breathing heavily. "Stop… make it stop."

"Bryan and Tala gets left behind. What do you notice?"

"No… don't!"

"Come on Rei, Give me something!"

"STOP!" Rei screamed out and ripped Kai's hand away. He leaned his head back in exhaustion and clenched his eyes shut. "I don't know!"

Kai tensed as he felt the back of Rei's head on his shoulder. And what startled him the most was the fact that he didn't rip his shoulder away immediately. Sighing in defeat he walked away to the other guys. Guess Spencer would have to manage without their help.

When Kai stepped away from the raven Rei's head tipped back but he caught it and leaned forward instead, supporting his head in his hands. Involuntarily a shiver ran along his spine when Kai's presence and warmth left his side. As reality came back uselessness showered him once more and he turned impetuously around in the chair to face the trio. "What do you want me to say? All I remember was people fighting and the huge stench of blood. You were there with me! I don't know more than you do!"

Kai halted in his step. His gaze met Tala's and he realized that they were thinking the same thing. "What kind of blood?"

The question stopped Rei's thoughts. Is there more than one type? Taking a few moments to get back on track Rei answered. "You didn't feel it? It was this thick metallic stench in the air. You can't have missed it. It was overwhelming!"

Bryan hit his head with his palm but cringed as the pain from the concussion made itself known. "That Bastard!"

"It would explain a lot." Tala put in and Kai nodded in affirmation.

"I don't understand." Rei said and looked at the three for an explanation.

"Damn it! That's fucking unfair. I want one!" Bryan growled, completely ignoring Rei. The other two sat down by the table to continue to eat and Rei's jaw dropped. That was it?

"Well…?" Rei urged the others on but an irritation grew inside him. He was not being ignored again! "What was it?"

"It was a Fertilizer Bomb." The red head stated simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and took a bite of his food. He could feel Rei's intensive stare in his side. "It's a-"

"No. Don't tell him." Bryan cut in with a big sadistic grin. "Let him figure it out on his own."

Rei joined them then at the table having brought the chair with him. Tala hit the back of Bryan's head. "Ignore his selfishness." The red head said and turned to Rei. Bryan groaned loudly and still holding his head with one hand he used the other to quickly grab the fork. The wolf just as fast moved his hand away and Rei's eyes widened as Bryan hit the fork hard down at the table where Tala's hand had been only a moment before. And as if not noticing Tala continued to speak. "A Fertilizer Bomb made of a mixture of a fertilizer containing Ammonium Nitrate and ordinary fuel oil, the bi product is Iron ions that get released out into the air. That's the 'metallic blood' scent you smelled."

"Oh…" Was all Rei could say and things seemed to calm down from there as they all ate the rest of their food. They ate in silence for a while until the raven grew tired of it. He decided to trust Spencer's words despite the 'special' comradeship in the team and not be afraid to get in contact with them.

"So… are you three always this friendly with eachother?" He said with a hint at attempted humor. While Kai ignored his question, both Bryan and Tala looked at him like he was stupid, making him sweatdrop in anime style. He had been right; this was not going to be easy.

"Ok, um… Tala. How are we going to train now?" He tried again to at least not get stuck in an awkward silence.

"The gymnastic field is something you have to work on by yourself, the thing you have to learn now is to fit in the team and we have to create your style. That includes; the routines, our different tactics, your choise of weapon, and close combat."

At the last one Bryan snorted making the red head to react and glance at him with suspicion. "Problem asshole?"

Rei looked up with big eyes, thinking wolf had talked to him. He hadn't even noticed Bryan's sound. But he quickly caught the message as the two of them were glaring at each other...again.

"You teach him close combat? That I have to see…"

Rei cut in. "I thought all of you knew close combat?"

The falcon stretched in his seat and smirked at Wolf who looked pissed off. "Bryan and Kai are very good in that particilar area. You could even say Bryan is in the lead. He is being an asshole right know, because I have never beating him in that field…not yet anyway."

"That's right." The silver haried demon concluded.

"The thing is Bryan; our plan here is to teach him how to fight, without killing him. And that is why putting you as a teacher is out of the question." Tala informed the falcon in a tone that sounded patronizing.

Rei froze in his seat again. What kind of training did they do exactly?

"Only if he not worthy. If he is weak then we won't have use for him anyway. We are offering him protection and a place in the team only if he can be useful, and if he's not. Well…"

"He has lived among people his entire life. He lacks years of training, he can never beat you with the skills he possesses now. You are not giving him a fair chance."

"Life is not fair." Bryan said.

"But then again, this is not really life." Rei put in again. Falcon leaned back and smiled at him knowingly. "Wow Tala's depression has affected you already."

"I have my own thoughts and opinions, you know." The raven objected. The attitude the Falcon had was really nasty.

"Enough already. Train him on all the necessary areas. I will train him in close combat," Phoenix said finally. All of them looked at him.

The leader didn't even look up from his food as he continued. "I've been thinking about it too. Falcon is right. If you can't do some good around here part from taking care of your own ass, then you are not good enough for us. But Wolf is also right, you need more time since you have, up until now, been untrained."

Rei nodded even though Kai couldn't see him.

"I will not push forward the mission too much for a new comrade. But I will give you about 30 days, to prove your worth."

"A month?" Rei exclaimed a little too loud. Phoenix looked at him and the raven felt lost in those ruby eyes.

"You got a problem with that?"

Rei didn't really know what to answer. The task seemed impossible, but what choice did he have? "No…" He finally forced out.

"Good." Kai nodded at the weak answer. It seemed like the leader didn't care very much for the outcome. It wasn't he who had anything to lose at the end except time, Rei thought. He was clear on one thing though; Even if the chance of him passing this challenge was low, he would use the time Kai had given him to do nothing but his best. And he would definitely not go down without a fight.

**TBC.**

**End of Chapter 9**

**Coming next, Chapter 10; "A ****Breakthrough**"  



	10. A Breakthrough

**Dark League chapter 10: A Breakthrough.**

**Hello, Chapter ten is out, Enjoy!**

**BETA: Bonnie-San**

**Rating: M**

**Warning: Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes.**

**Paring: Kai/Rei. Maybe others.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. ^^**

"Talking"

`Thinking´

#Speaking Russian#

"_Rei telling the story"  
_

**On with the story!**

(29 days left until test)

"You heard the boss yesterday, now step it up!" Tala called as he watched the raven swing back and forward in the rings. He made a vault before swinging up his feet into the rings and let go with his arms. It seemed effortless but on the inside Rei's chaotic thoughts spoke a different tale.

"But how am I going to be good enough in twenty nine days?" He said as he jumped down from the rings. He didn't want the regular training anymore; he wanted to learn the important stuff.

"First of all, stop complaining about it. Then you will have more time to train." Tala said and looked over to another pair of rings higher up and then to the wooden bars on the wall. "Do you think you can jump from a higher distance?" He asked and pointed at the wooden wall bars. Rei looked up as well and got the hint. "Yeah, I can try." He said as he walked over and started to climb. In the meantime, Tala walked over to the storage room and pulled out a very dusty and old mattress. "It's not much but it will have to do."

Rei laughed nervously as he felt the wooden bar at the top of the wall cracked under his weight and he looked out on the rings before him. "Ok, I can do this, I can do this..." He said and closed his eyes to focus. It took a couple of seconds but when he opened them he felt determination so he jumped out without hesitation. He timed the rings perfectly and grinned in victory. He swung back and forth before swinging his legs up and switched to the upside-down position he recently learned.

Suddenly the door opened and he saw Bryan entering the room. He tried to ignore it and worked on his body to reach up to the rings again.

"I'm wondering if there really is any hope." The falcon said as he stopped by Tala's side. "There _is_ when I'm training him." The redhead answered and didn't flinch as he sensed the warm breath by his ear. "We have a job tonight."

"Got it, can you fix the preparations?" He said back as they looked at each other.

"I can. Btw, Kai is starting to calm down after a new phone call from Spencer so avoid him for a while and we will hopefully have some calm days before us unless the newcomer finds a way to piss him off."

"Let's hope so." He agreed.

A sudden yell from above made them look up but Rei fell down and landed on the mattress, making all the dust to fly and surround them both. Bryan and Tala stepped back and was coughing while Rei looked up from his position with a guilty smile before. "Eh… sorry about that…" he said before sneezing when the dust rained on him. Bryan coughed one last time before putting a patting hand on his comrade's shoulder. "Don't have too high hopes."

* * *

_I was very grateful for Tala's attention in my training, but that was before I found out he would tear me apart and build me up again as a new person._

"Does Bryan always order food from the same place?" Rei asked as they entered the training room again after dinner.

"Mostly, why?" The redhead asked as he was looking over his whip for damage.

"Don't you get tired of eating the same food every day?" The raven was jumping up and down to warm up for the next workout. "Not that I missed him very much, but why didn't he join us today?" He asked.

"Food is only fuel in my opinion; I don't put much thought in it. And Falcon is busy. Now, do you have more questions or do you want to get started?" Tala said as he walked over to the open floor.

"Sure!" Rei said and started to walk over to the rings. But a sudden whistle in the floor made him turn around questioningly. "The will be no more rings today Rei. Come here."

The raven looked at in him suspiciously and slowly made his way over with hesitation, making the Russian to roll his eyes. "You don't have time to be nervous. Your time is running out and you have tons to learn, so stop wasting time and just do what you have to do." He said firmly.

"Fine!" Rei said and tried to be more inspired. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Simple, avoid my attack." Tala said and raised his new-checked whip. The raven's eyes widened, the little confident he had already gone. "H-how?"

The redhead couldn't help but to smile a little. "Trust me, your body will know what to do and you will move away from the pain."

"How much pain are we talking about here?" Rei gasped and jumped back by the quick crack in front of his feet. "Heh, never mind I think I get it..."

"Good. Get ready, we start with side movements. It's the basics to avoid an attack. I want to see you put effort in your legs and be one with the movement." Tala instructed and raised the whip again.  
The raven was moving his body but he was very awkward and had a tense posture. Every sound from the whip hitting the floor made him flinch a little, which caused the instructor to become very annoyed. "REI!"

"I know, but it will hurt!" He said in his defense and cried out when the whip made contact with his leg. "SON OF A BITCH!" He yelled and held his knee.

"Keep talking and see what that will get you." The Russian said and lashed out again, this time the raven jumped out of the way. "I didn't mean you!" Rei said and held up his hands in surrender. The whip hit his fingertips making him cry out again.

"Never give up like that, what is wrong with you!" Tala growled and started to move towards him, making Rei back away to keep the distance between them, but it was all in vain.

"Ok, I'm sorry!"

"Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness!"

"I'm sorry!"

"WHAT did I just tell you!"

"I'm sorr... ALRIGHT I GET IT!" Rei screamed and without thinking he vaulted to the side on his hands and landed on his knees.

"Good, use your acrobatic skills. Move around, be more flexible. You need to use your movements even when something is distracting you." Tala said and lashed out with his leather again. Rei flew to his feet and jumped slightly on his spot, not really sure what direction he should head for. The stress in his body was blocking his thoughts and he felt the adrenaline building but he didn't know how to use it. "Tala, you are starting to freak me out!"

"Good, then you will be prepared to face an enemy someday. Time to bring this up a level. Move around!" Tala yelled and dashed for him.

Rei did all he could, he fled for his life; Jumping, ducking, screaming and hissing every time the whip hit him. He tried to protest a couple of times but decided against it as Tala increased the speed every time he tried. He wondered if the redhead had snapped and just wanted to hurt him. Maybe Kai had asked him. After a while of hurting he fell to the floor as the whip hit the side of his foot. He groaned in pain and put his hand over the spot, while trying to breath. He yelped as the leather met his thigh and he crunched down in a defensive position. Tala didn't stop to let the whip hit him over and over making Rei protest even more as the pain slowly became overwhelming.

"Do I really need to say it! Get up; you are not getting away from the pain on the floor. Never put yourself in a vulnerable position." He said and hit again.

"ARGH! Damn it hurts, please give me five minutes!"

"Don't beg."

"I'm just…"

"Don't!" The sound of the whip struck again.

"OUCH!"

"GET UP!"

"You are killing me here!"

"No, I'm not, you are still screaming."

Suddenly Rei felt anger take the best of him and with a growl he jumped to his feet and avoided another hit. His golden eyes turned to slits and his white fangs were showing with a low growl.

"Interesting." Tala commented, this was a new side of the raven.

Without thinking about anything else than to stop the whip, Rei lunged at the redhead who let the whip whistle through the air. Rei avoided that hit and thought he had done it. Now only a couple of steps from the redhead he went in for an attack and it were the confident miscalculation that became his downfall. After making a big sidestep, Tala quickly formed his whip into a circle and threw the loop around the raven's neck. Rei growled as the leather got tense around his throat and he didn't have much time to do anything about it before Tala took another sidestep and yanked hard enough to make him crash to the floor. They stayed like that for a while; Rei was panting and glaring at the dusty floor for his total failure, he didn't want to believe that he was finished yet.

Tala saw that the Chinese had had enough for now, so he was starting to gather the leather to pull it back and that was what gave the raven a new idea. A new sparkle appeared in his golden eyes and he grabbed the material around his neck and held on tight. The action caused the Russian to raise an eyebrow. "Doesn't it make you vulnerable if someone gets a hold of your weapon?" Rei asked with a confident smile, deep inside he was quite proud that he had made that discovery about his strict teacher. The thing he wasn't ready for was the fact that Tala just calmly smiled back. "Rei, I'm never vulnerable." The Russian swiftly lashed out with the handle and more braided leather material. Rei thought he was trying to make him confused and snickered as the whip flew past his face. But the smile quickly vanished when a small rip burst open his old gash on his cheek, making it bleed. His eyes widened and he gasped as his hand flew up and covered the now open wound. He didn't understand what just happened and he quickly followed the whip with his eyes all the way up to the handle that was back in Tala's hand, but there was nothing there that could have cut him. "How did you do that?" He asked but the Russian just held out his hand. "You have much to learn."

The raven groaned as he got to his feet with Tala's help. "Damn…" He muttered. "Is it over?"

"I have stuff to do so yes, it's over….for now. We start over tomorrow morning." He said.

Rei nodded and followed the redhead out from the training room. He was glad to be let off the hook a little earlier; cause this last work out had been a pain to say at least.

Rei winced as he closed the door behind him, his body hurt like hell and even before that he was feeling sore from the training. If every session would be like this, then he wouldn't make it, he was sure of it. He couldn't help but to wonder where Tala was going. Had it something to do with Bryan's disappearance too? It was funny that he thought, even if all the Russian's here were lacking in sociality skills, that it was pretty empty without them. He felt that when he was with them, even though he annoyed them, his bitterness faded a little. It was when he was alone that the dark thoughts came back… like now.

He took off his T-shirt and put it on the sofa as the light suddenly went out. He stopped with what he was doing and looked around. Nothing more than a blackout, he thought at first but then he looked out through his window; other buildings were still shining on the other side of the brick wall. An uneasy feeling woke up inside him. He couldn't help but to remember most of the scary movies Tyson had showed him during his stay. The most ended in the same way… Normally he wouldn't believe in that kind of stories about crazy serial killers but after meeting this shadow trio he wasn't so sure. He started to back away from the window, thinking that this was a bad joke from Bryan when he suddenly backed into something. "The lamp in this room is broken." Was spoken with a low voice from behind making him yell out and hit back with his elbow. A strong arm caught it and his other arm in a very firm grip and he froze in the hold.

"Easy." The voice hissed with an annoyed tone. It was then that he recognized it as Kai's. Carefully he turned his head and his breath was put to a halt when those dark eyes looked into his through the darkness. "I'm sorry." He whispered back as Kai let him go and the raven backed away. "Here…" He heard the other say and Kai picked up the towel he had dropped on the floor because of the sudden reaction from Rei. The raven could feel the red irises checking him through before the blunette reached out with the towel for him to take. "You probably would appreciate a real shower."

Rei looked at his direction and shone up as he saw Kai's intention, the check-out from Kai forgotten. "Oh, god yes, I do!" The raven said quickly and accepted the towel gratefully. He followed the shadow leader out in the hallway to a room where he had never been before. As they entered the room he found it empty. It was just an ordinary room which he didn't know what it had been used for. He was going to ask Kai, but the shadow stepped over to another door.

"I'm guessing you are used to warm water, it's not much of that but you are free to take it if you want." He said and yanked up a new very bad looking door. It cracked as it was forced open and Kai reached inside after a switch. The light was bad as well. Rei quickly put two and two together. This was an old student-dorm. Since this had been a school then people was probably living here. Kai stepped aside for Rei and said no more as he started to leave.

"Kai?" Rei called out after him making him stop and look over his shoulder.

"Thank you. I'm doing my best in the training." The raven found himself saying. For some reason he wanted something to talk about. He wanted to thank the leader for giving him a chance to join his team. After all, he knew that Kai hadn't been so fond of the idea. But that he had changed his mind was much appreciated and he wanted to be of any help if he could. For some reason he didn't know why, he wanted Kai to know how much effort he put in this. During this short stay, what Kai thought about him was very important. He knew he owed the shadow his life. That probably forms a kind of bond. To Rei at least. A bond of gratitude.

"That's good, for your sake." Kai answered simply and left.

'Wow that went well.' He thought to himself with irritation and stepped inside in the small bathroom. Even this room felt like a construction site and he pulled away a shower drapery that was used to be white but was now barely recognizable. He tried to touch it as little as possible.  
It was a simple damaged room, only a part of a broken mirror that was glued on the wall in front of him with a disgusting sink under it, a toilet and the shower. No cabinets or anything else.

He put the towel and his remaining clothes on the toilet and stepped into the shower. At first nothing happen when he turned the handle but a very disturbing noise was heard and suddenly he received a wave of water in his face, not from the spot he expected it from, but from the pipe. It was ice cold, making him jump back with a growl.

"Terrific." He said and tried to stop it. It took him some moments but after a while he managed to get the water to run right and he also succeeded in getting it from ice cold to only… plain cold. He decided to use what he had because he didn't want to waste the water if there only was a certain amount. He shivered as the water ran down his sour body and he drew his fingers through the black waives of hair. He didn't have any shampoo so he tried to clean himself up the best he could.

"Not much difference than camping in the mountain in China." He said to himself, trying to keep up the positive attitude to his new life.

He was sure to stop the water after he was done and he used the towel, put on his pants he wore when he arrived, before stepping out in the hallway again. Normally you would feel the cold air hit you when you stepped out of the shower, but Rei felt like the air was warm around him, so cold had the water been. He held his long hair and tried to prevent it to drip too much as he entered his room again. He needed some well-deserved rest after this tough training.

* * *

The moving silhouettes on the buildings walls was the only sign of life as the fast shadows ran through ally after ally towards their destination. "Where did Spencer get this information from?" Tala asked as they stopped to look out at the street after possible threats. It could be anything, to many cars, people who was not just passing by or cops of any kind.

"Since Kai has been in a shitty mood, I didn't bother to question him. He just said that we would find this shrimp in that bar." The silver haired Russian said and fixed his scythe that was strapped on his back under his cloak.

"Then we will have to take his word for it." The other concluded and with a last glance they quickly ran over the small street. With a vault over the fence, they disappeared into the small park and used the forest area as both cover and as a shortcut to their goal.

"There it is."Bryan said as they stopped at the end of the wooden area and looked out on another street. He pointed at a little premise in the corner. It was a typical bad place that normal people don't go to and the cops have on their nightly surveillance. The windows had the venetian blinds down and a sign with red neon letters said; closed.

The only sign of life at all were the three big looking guys that were standing outside, leaning on the wall while smoking and drinking.

"Fun to have another party to crash." Bryan commented and reached for his weapon while smirking to the other, "Admit it, it's been a while."

"Imagine that, even a cold bastard like you knows the word fun." Tala said with a big smile of his own.

"Stand back red. I take care of this." He said and was about to walk out from their hiding space when the red head's hand stopped him. "Oh I think not. You always show off, I don't want to be stuck here all night. Let's get this over with." The younger of them said and pushed him aside before going out into the open and started to cross the street. All three of them stopped talking and looked at the newcomer who pulled down his dark hood reviling flaming red hair and ice blue eyes. Strangers never approached them like this. It was probably some naïve boy who wanted to ask for directions, poor tourists… One of them; bald-headed, with a big dragon burned into his arm, dressed in blue jeans and a black tank-top, stepped forward with a big grin, he had no problem with _assisting_ the stranger.

"Hello pretty boy. Are you lost or are you looking for some fun time?"

The redhead calmly shrugged and smiled big at the man as he approached him. "Maybe I am… what…" Then the expression changed and he sighed in annoyance. "You can't even wait for five minutes, can you?" The man frowned at the statement but then his eyes widened when a blade came out from behind the redhead and it pierced his chest.

Some of the laughing men inside stopped by the sound of screaming and banging outside. The bartender just sighed and shook his head, the last thing he needed was the cops in his pub again. They had already been there three times that week. He tried to block it out and continued to clean the glass in his hand but suddenly one man came crashing through the door and hit the floor lifeless. "What the hell!" The bartender screamed more in shock than in anger. This was no policemen.

They all looked at the two strangers who came inside. One of them just stepped on the fallen man like he was a rug and they stopped in the center of the floor in front of the bar.

The one who had just wiped of his shoes on the dead body pulled down his hood and reviled silver hair and cold eyes. Two men who were sitting by a small table to his right got up and backed away from their spot as he looked at them. They could clearly see that the stranger was unstable.

"We are looking for Tom." The silver haired said like they all were good friends.

"Who the hell do you think you are storming in here and attack my costumers?" The bartender roared and just like that pulled out a rifle from under the disk. Tala and Bryan didn't flinch. Even though the man was armed, he wasn't much without the gun. He had a slim frame, bad posture and no hair except of a black thin mustache. All in all he wasn't a big threat unless he had a really good aim.

"Wow, wow, wow, take is easy now Larry." A man said and got up from his seat in the bar. He walked forward to the strangers and smiled almost politely. He had long brown hair tied in a low ponytail and was dressed in a black motorcycle outfit.

"Why are you looking for Tom?" He asked as he approached them.

"Are you Tom?" The redhead asked just as polite.

"I'm just curious, you seem eager to see him… Can I ask-?" The man gasped as a fist dug into his stomach with high speed and a new one hit the side of his face and sends him to the floor half unconscious.

"If you're not him, then stop wasting our time." The silver haired stranger growled and kicked the groaning man he just hit. This made all of the guests to react and stood up from their seat.

Tala and Bryan quickly stepped back in their fighting stance. They put their backs against each other like they had trained to do in years. "Nicely done." Tala whispered as he looked at the number before them. It was ten men at least who wanted to fight and even more who were still deciding to join or not.

"He deserved it." The falcon answered simply.

"Oh, of course, damn him for talking."

Bryan wanted to glare at his comrade's irony but he didn't have time to look away from the other drunken criminals who approached them further.

"Let's dump this trash in the garbage outside!" Someone yelled making them laugh. They all halted though as Bryan took out his scythe and adjusted it swiftly for close combat. Tala already had his whip at hand. "It doesn't need to be like this, all we want is the one in here named Tom." The redhead said.

"What are you doing?" Bryan hissed. But the other didn't care. "Trying to save Spencer some paperwork." He said.

"Don't try to back out now," One big guy said and crushed a beer bottle against the table edge to make a sharp weapon. "You act like you want a fight. We all in here are up for it, so stop whine and get to it." He said.

"Fine you get it your way, bastard." Tala said to his comrade and shoved the grinning Bryan to the side and with that; the fight begun.

* * *

Rei was turning around on his sofa. He was pretty tired but for some reason he couldn't let sleep claim him. The thought about how bad it had went on the training was making him even more worried than before. He felt stress take the best of him and he got up from his sleeping spot. His hair was still wet so he settled down by the dinner table and started to make a loose braid. It was more to have something to do and to calm himself down but even his long hair ended at some point. He tied it at the end and threw it over his shoulder and started to walk out in the hallway. He still didn't feel comfortable to open a bunch of doors so he took the stairs to the level above. The next floor was pretty much the same as the other levels, torn and dusty. He couldn't help wondering if the authorities would appear with a bulldozer any time soon. That would really suck. He walked pass another door and made a quick halt. There… out on a balcony, Kai was leaning forward on the railing. Before even thinking it through he walked down and grabbed his black cloak before running back up to company the other.

Kai didn't want to admit he was surprised to hear the door open behind him. Especially when the other two was out. "Is it alright if I join you?"

"Hn."

Rei took it as a sign to go ahead. He was sure Kai would make it more clearly to him otherwise. The cloak was very warm and he pulled the hood up to protect his wet braid from the cold wind.  
Kai tried to ignore the other presence who took in the view. But for some reason he wanted to be aware of what the other was doing and it didn't take much time before he was glancing to the side. Rei was smiling at the view unaware of Kai's eyes on him. It was nice to take a deep breath and just calm down from his worries. He didn't know why but Kai's presence helped at the moment too. "You know, this is a sight so different from the one I have at home in China, but it's alright." He waited for moment if Kai wanted to enter the conversation but he was waiting in vain. Not wanting to give up yet he tried again and looked down on his hands.

"So… Tala informed me about the job you do…" He said carefully. He turned to Kai who quickly turned away from him. "That was his task." The Russian answered. He took out a cigarette and lighted it. He took a deep breath of it before offering it to the raven. "You want?" Rei looked at the cigarette and furrowed as he got flashbacks to both Brooklyn and Claude. No matter who he met here, that person just had to smoke around him. In this case Kai was no exception. He shook his head as answer and gracefully jumped up and sat on the railing.

"Where are the other two?" He asked instead to change the subject fast.

"Out on a job." Kai said as he took the cigarette to his lips again.

"Aren't you worried about them when you guys are separated?" Rei continued to keep his thought away from the disgusting smell of the smoke.

"Tala and Bryan can take care of themselves. I doubt they get into trouble on this mission."

* * *

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't made a scene out there!" Tala yelled as he ducked from a fist and sidestepped another attacker. With a hard elbow in the face, the man was put unconsciousness.

"You think they would have answered if you asked them?" Bryan yelled back and pierced a man while kicking another.

"You think they will answer if they are dead?" Tala's whip lashed itself around the legs of next criminal and he pulled hard to break his balance completely. He had to move out of the way with a vault while he gathered the leather again. Just as he got to his feet he found himself trapped in a bear-hug from behind.

"Ever heard of personal space?" He growled and slammed his foot down on his attacker's knee and then threw himself forward, effectively letting his attacker to vault over his shoulder. As he grabbed the attacker's arm when the man hit the ground he didn't waste any time to break it. That scream was just one of many as Bryan slashed and hit the other costumers.

Tala suddenly caught sight of a nervous man who was staying in the background. That man kept looking as everybody else joined the fight and was trying to reach for the door instead. The man had been one of the three candidates that the redhead had suspected to be Tom when they had asked.

"Jackpot, three o'clock." He called out making Bryan to look as well. The Russian took one glance at the guy and was convinced. He sidestepped his current opponents, tackling another and dashed towards the suspect who screamed out as he was trapped with Bryan's strong arm around his throat in no time. The falcon wasted no time in taking out one of his guns and shot a hole in the roof, making the bartender go crazy in rage.

"Get the hell out of my bar!" He screamed and shot at the silver haired Russian and his hostage.

Tala lashed out and caught the rifle with his leather; he pulled and caught it in his own hand. To revenge the shot the man had used at his comrade he aimed and fired three shots at the bar. The older man ducked behind the disk and screamed as the bullets destroyed his shelves and bottles. "What did you say now, asshole!" He growled and threw the rifle in the head of another stupid moron who tried to attack him from the side. Still pissed off he nodded to Bryan who had the others remaining costumers in check with his aim.

"Just so we are clear in this, you shaking leaf, you are Tom right?" He said to the shaking guy in his arm.

"...Y-es... don't hurt m-e p-lease!" The guy stuttered.

"Shut up you coward." He snorted in disgust and nodded back. "Red. We are leaving."

"Thanks for the party." Tala said with a grin, his mood changed in an insane way. He backed out from the bar enjoying the glares he and his comrade received from the remaining criminals.

Once outside Bryan forced the hostage down on the ground at gun point and beat the daylight out of him. He then quickly heaved the motionless body onto his shoulder and ran together with Tala down the street.

* * *

"You are not serious; he did approach you just like that?" Kai said as he threw away the second cigarette filter that night.

"Yeah, it was very simple for him. But I guess he could feel my desperation." Rei answered as he recalled the confident Brooklyn who pulled him into this world from the beginning. Even though the guy had been after his skills to boost his gang all along and had probably planned it, Rei felt stupid to fall for the tactic.

"He is just full of himself." Kai said and shook his head. Rei pulled the cloak closer as a wind surrounded him. "What do you know about him?" He asked.

"He is Claude's right hand and even though Claude has the leader part, Brooklyn is handling the lower groups of gangsters. Like the group who hurt you." Rei shivered by the memory and his hand reached up for the gash one more time. He had managed to clean the wound in the shower, but he still felt that it was new and healing. Kai also saw it and without thinking he took hold of Rei's chin and looked at it more closely. "I thought it was healing…" He said more to himself. Rei felt awkward being watched so intensively and he pulled away discreetly. "Well…Tala and I trained earlier."

The corner of Kai's mouth moved a little, not so much to call it a smile but it was something. "You must have ticked him off."

The raven couldn't deny that, but he wouldn't tell the leader how he failed at the training. He didn't want to give Kai the slightest reason for kicking him of the group. He wouldn't stand a chance out there alone. Come to think about it… if he failed. Would they kick him out on the street, or would they kill him?

"Well, yeah… I have a talent of that." He said and tried to smile it away. He wasn't sure if the leader was buying it but he did his best to keep a calm face.

"Have you decided on a weapon yet?"

"Huh?" Rei was pulled out from his thoughts. The question came out of the blue and he wasn't prepared for it. And it wasn't one of his favorite topics right now either.

"If I'm going to train you then I need to know what weapon you will choose." The leader said causally.

Rei hadn't thought about it more closely yet. He didn't think he could handle any weapon like the others had. He didn't have much knowledge in the area either. But at least he had something to talk to Kai about. It was a start to get a little closer to the shadow and maybe not get hurt in the process.

"What can I choose from?" He asked.

"Anything you can think of. We can provide with almost anything."

"Do you have anything that won't do maximal damage?"

Kai frowned at the question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I was thinking…" Rei started, choosing his words carefully. He knew Kai wouldn't buy the lines that even came close to the fact that he was a peace-loving guy and didn't want to hurt a fly or something like that. It would give him a free ticket to the streets as well. "Since I'm still in training and need to be helpful out on the field, I thought I could choose a weapon for defense. Clearly the gangster doesn't hesitate to attack me out there so I probably do more good in defending myself and taking them down than just work on some attack pattern that could fail and put myself in more danger… am I making any sense?"

Kai leaned on the railing and thought about it. "As a matter of fact, you do actually."

Rei looked at him again and ignored the comment that hinted that Kai was surprised that he had thought of something useful.

"You can choose a weapon for defense. I need to see what you can do anyway and I still have Tala and Bryan for offense. It will do for the time being."

"That would be great, thanks."

Kai just grunted on response and avoided the other's grateful smile. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit and he didn't know why. There was something with Rei… something that he couldn't put his finger on. Was it the other's gratitude? His smile? His intensive stare?  
Feeling himself getting frustrated he turned around with a low growl and walked inside.

Rei smiled in relief. Kai had actually listened to his wishes about the weapon. Finally he could stand to think about his future training. He couldn't help but to get curious now what kind of training Kai had in mind compare to Tala's. In the middle of this thought he jumped slightly as Kai suddenly and unexpectedly growled and turned away from him like he was the pest and the Russian went inside, slamming the door shut. Rei just sat there on the railing, his golden eyes reviled the shock he was in. What had just happened?

* * *

"Is he heavy?" Tala asked as they stopped two streets from the bar. Bryan grunted and changed his grip around the body on his shoulder. "Want to find out?" He growled irritated.

"I asked because I suspect you are hiding a bullet wound." The other said and pulled the cloak tighter around himself. The wind was cold this night.

Bryan snickered half heartily and shook his head. "The fool couldn't aim if his life depended on it."

"I think that bar was his life because he was trying to blow your head off…what is that?" They both turned around by the sound of a big roaring engine. "Cops?" Bryan asked.

"No, it's a jeep." Tala concluded and right on cue the big vehicle came around the corner with big spotlights on. The passengers were screaming when they spotted the two Russians and wasted no time in shooting at them from the windows. Not wasting any time Tala and Bryan made a run for it down the street.

"It's hard to be a shadow if the enemy has a spotlight." Bryan commented as they turned the corner of a building. A bullet hit the brick right after. "Yeah, it takes all the fun out of it right?" Tala agreed and turned into one of the many alleys on the street. It was small way with a container. Also a fence with barbed wire was blocking the exit.

Tala launched his whip at the wire and pulled but it wouldn't come loose. Bryan threw Tom's body on the ground and extended his scythe. With a hard hit he cut the piece of wire that Tala was stretching. "Where did they get all the toys from?" Bryan asked as the wire was removed from their path.

"I think the bitter bar owner had some more weapons stashed."

The lighter Russian jumped up and climbed up at the top and reached down as Bryan was lifting up the motionless body. Tala grabbed him and tried to heave the guy up but it was too much. "Damn this dead weight." He hissed and felt how the body was slipping from his grip.

"C'mon!" Bryan rushed, but it was useless. Tala heard the gang check the ally next to theirs and he jumped down again.

"What are you doing?" The falcon hissed as the ice blue shadow took his scythe from him and rushed over to the trash container.

"Get that piece of trash over, I cover you!" He yelled and pushed the big metal box in front of them. Bryan just cursed but did what he was told. He lifted Tom's body up over his shoulder and neck and started to climb. Tala used the scythe and lifted the lid of the container at the last second when bullets were being fired at Bryan's back. The height of the lid was good enough to cover most of his comrade. Footsteps of four guys were coming and when Tala felt they were close he pushed the metal box forward making all of them to hit the ground with curses.

Tala wasted no time to throw his comrade's weapon over the fence before jumping in and kick the criminal's guns away and tried to keep them occupied in a fistfight. Bryan got up to the top and dumped Tom on the other side before jumping down himself. His back hurt after the weight. He turned to his fighting comrade.

"It's done, let's go!" He yelled and cursed as the redhead received a big punch in the face and was pushed up against the wall by three of the men. The fourth was out cold on the ground. Bryan started to climb to aid him.

"Don't!" Tala yelled making him stop halfway and look. The lighter Russian pushed off the wall and kicked the first one in the stomach and elbowed the other who ducked.

"Watch out! Hit him! Duck! On your left! Punch him in the kidneys!" Bryan instructed making the other to growl in annoyance. "Bring him down, sweep the leg!" The falcon continued.

"Shut up!" The wolf barked and managed to hit one of them in the throat. With a gurgling sound the gangster went down. Tala then swept the leg of the other and as he hit the ground, the redhead followed and made a body slam, effectively breaking the man's ribs.

Slightly out of breath he got up to face the last one. "You know, it would be easier if you just stayed down." He said with a confident and wolf-ish smirk.

The man snickered in response. "You think you can come to our bar and do as you like? Things got consequences bastard, something you are now going to find out."

He swiftly took out a blade and threw it at the redheaded who easily avoided it and attacked him from the side. Two punches in the gut and a kick at his knee brought him down against the fence head first. Tala jumped over him and started to climb. As he reached the top the criminal used his last powers and reached up. He grabbed the redhead's foot and tried to yank him down. As he was starting to get pulled down again Tala scratched his hand on the top of the fence, making him hiss in pain. A sudden pang sound came out of nowhere and the criminal fell to the ground with a bullet between his eyes. Tala looked down at the body and then at Bryan who had pointed his gun between the holes in the fence. "You alright?" He asked. The other nodded and jumped over.

"Damn, all this drama for a bar visit? They are getting more and more sensitive." The falcon commented and picked up the now groaning body and started to move.

Tom's brown eyes slowly opened as the cold wind made him shiver. He could just recognize something that could be lights, but he didn't understand the picture in front of him. Cars could be heard from under him and he lifted his hand to massage his hurting head. It was then he felt how heavy his arms were and with a scream he noticed that he was hanging upside down, from a building roof. Only a leather whip was his life line around his foot and he looked up at the two shadow figures that were standing on the edge, looking down on him.

"You!" He screamed and started to flax with his arms in panic." Please put me down!"

"You are not using particular clever words." Falcon commented and got down into sitting position. "Look here scumbag. It's just you, us and ten floors down to the 34th street. Be a smart one and admit that your options are limited. Tell us where Claude is."

"I- don't know what you are talking about!" The man stuttered.

"We know you are a member of Brooklyn's crew; sometimes it's dangerous to brag too much on the streets." Wolf said and looked over his wound on his hand. He was standing on his whip that held the man hanging. Falcon had one foot on it as well.

"I c-can't tell you! H-h-e kill m-e!" The guy screamed and started to cry. His filthy brown hair was moving in his face by the wind.

"Tough call there. Then you just have to choose if you want to die here or with him?" Falcon said and let the whip fall a little, making the guy to scream in fright. "Alright alright! I don't know where the boss is… B-ut I know wh-ere Brooklyn will be next week!"

The shadows looked at each other in question. "It's good enough for now." The falcon admitted and looked down at their captive.

"Tell us everything."

"He will be doing an exchange of some sort. He didn't tell me the details but it was something big. If you want to get hold of Brooklyn then that's where you should go; the meeting will be in North part Central Park, near the entrance."

"When?"

"In a week, around midnight… please let me go!"

They stood there for a moment, thinking about the information. Brooklyn were the second best goal, it would be easy to get to Claude through his right hand. Bryan reached down and started to pull the guy up who sobbed like a five year old. It all went fine until Tom's waist came over the edge. Then he pulled out a hidden knife from his jacket. "You can't have that information and live." He screamed and lashed out the blade against Bryan who avoided the stab in his throat with inches. The blade made a cling-sound as it hit the chain on the shadow's leash.

"FALCON!" Tala yelled and moved towards his comrade by instinct. The weight of Tom's life line was gone and his eyes widened as he fell backwards, not completely balanced with his weight on the edge. In pure desperation he dropped the knife and grabbed the edge with his finger tips and held on for dear life while screaming.

Tala checked over Bryan for injuries and the falcon recovered from the small chock from almost been sliced in the throat. His eyes went from surprised to crazy in rage. He looked at the helpless gangster who looked back at them with plea in his face. Tala looked between them and protested as Bryan pushed him aside and approached guy with a growl. He didn't hesitate. With a kick in Tom's chest the gangster flew out from the edge and disappeared down in the city chaos, his last scream was heard until his voice was swallowed by the traffic.

"Damn it, my weapon!" Tala cursed and threw himself at the edge and looked down. It had still been wrapped around Tom's foot.

"It's gone, forget about it!" Bryan yelled like it's was nothing important and turned to leave.

"The hell it is!"

The silver haired Russian turned around and called out to his comrade as the redhead ran towards the fire ladder but he was ignored. Afraid what the red head might do he followed him.

People were screaming in the street, telling each other to call the police and cars were stopping the traffic. A quite big crowd was gathering around the incident. Tom's body was crushed to nothing more than an unrecognizable piece of bloody flesh all over the side walk. Luckily nobody had gotten hurt by his downfall.

Tala stopped by the corner of the nearest ally and his ice blue eyes was glaring from under his black hood. He couldn't care less about the body but he could see his dear whip lying by the crowd's feet. How was he supposed to reach it without making a scene?

"Tal, c'mon, even I think this is too risky." Bryan whispered from behind him but he didn't want to give in.

"I can do this. They won't know what hit them." He growled in frustration as Bryan put his hand on his shoulder softly.

"Red, I don't beg, but I will if it keeps you away from that street. We can ask Spencer to snatch it from the evidence box. Please let's go."

Tala turned to him with surprised eyes. They looked at each other for a moment before Bryan broke the contact and turned to leave, expecting the other to follow. Reluctantly he did so and they were once again swallowed by the darkness in the ally.

**TBC.**

**Watch out for next chapter: "Get ready in time!"**

**Take care everyone!**

**Sparkleshadowcat.**


	11. Get Ready In Time!

**Hello, Chapter eleven called; ****Get Ready in Time**** is out!**  
**BETA: Bonnie-San**  
**Rating: M**  
**Warning: Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **  
**Paring: Kai/Rei. Maybe others.**  
**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. **"**Talking"**  
**`Thinking´**  
**#Speaking Russian#**  
"_Rei telling the story"_

**On with the story!**

Rei opened his golden eyes as his ears suddenly picked up the voices from his comrades in the hallway. He quickly glanced at the watch to make sure he hadn't been sleeping for too long. And he had been right; it had only been a few hours since he had turned in for the night. Sitting up in the sofa he listened to find out if it was a new fight or something more important. The words he heard were in Russian, which made it impossible to conclude. Even though he was curious he decided that the subject didn't concern him and he lay down again and was going to get back to sleep. He had a hard day of training before him and he still needed a couple of more hours rest to function properly. But as always in his case, fate wanted something else when the door opened and the lamp was turned on. The light from it was very damp, but it didn't die this time.

"Get up kitten, time for a meeting." Bryan said as he and Tala got rid of their black cloaks.

"Kitten?" He repeated and frowned. Nobody had ever called him that before… and he didn't like it at all.

Kai walked over to the table and hooked up his laptop without a word, he didn't even look at the raven and Rei wondered if he still was angry from before. He still didn't know why the leader had made a U-turn like that when the conversation had gone so well. Rei stayed on the sofa and stared at Kai's profile while Bryan and Tala pulled out the chairs to sit down.

"I said get up." Bryan shot out, this time with a more warning tone, making the raven quickly jump up from his sleeping spot. His body protested for the sudden movement but he ignored it and approached the table where Bryan put down his scythe. Rei's eyes fell on the sharp weapon and saw how crimson blood drops fell from the blade and onto the table surface. Dark thoughts filled his mind and he couldn't help but to glance at the falcon and wondering who he had killed. His second thought went to Tala and he glanced at him. The red head sat down quietly and had his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest. Rei saw that even he had blood traces on his neck and green shirt. "Are you alright Tala?" He asked as he clearly could feel the bad mood the shadow was in but he received no answer.

"He is just pissed off because he lost his whip tonight." Bryan put in instead and cursed as the red head elbowed him in the gut.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Rei said and it took all his willpower to not smile at the news. This meant no more pain and bruises from that kind of training.

"You don't have to worry, I have another one." Tala said without looking up. "Not that I want to use that old piece of shit." Was added in a lower tone. Rei wondered if Tala actually could hear his smile or simply read minds. Either way, it was freaky.

"Central Park you said?" Kai asked to break the conversation and he received a nod from Bryan. Rei sat down with a yawn and looked at the map that appeared on the computer screen. "What is going on?"

"We are going to target Brooklyn in a week. We will find him… right… There; the northern entrance. He will be doing a deal of some kind." The Falcon informed and pointed while pointing at the screen.

"Interesting." The leader said and went silent as he seemed to disappear into a deep thinking state. Rei looked at him at first before he turned to the others. "So… when you say that **we** will target him in a week then you mean you three, right?"

The Falcon smirked at him. "What? Are you still scared of that wimp? How about you man up a little?"

Rei glared at him. "What reason do I have to throw myself out there untrained?" He held his ground as the silver haired shadow stood up from his seat and took hold of his dripping scythe. Bryan finally took notice of the blood and scowled as he had forgotten to clean it. He let that annoyance add to his already frustrated tone. "I don't see the reason for you to be here in the first place. If you're not prepared to do the work around here then why use us for protection?"

"Why are you…" Rei started but was cut off by Tala who stood up between them. "Enough." Red head said calmly and sighed. "Rei, we are a four-man cell now. You are part of it too."

"Unbelievable." Bryan muttered and moved away from them, stopping in the doorway. Rei ignored him this time and just looked back at Tala. "Tala… in a week. Really? I'm not ready."

#Tala you get him ready.# Kai said and closed his laptop.

#I can't guarantee that… and why is it only me?# He argued in Russian. Rei walked back to his sofa with a frustrated sigh as he didn't understand the words.

#Finish what you started.# Bryan put in from where he stood as Kai joined him and nodded in agreement.

#What I started? You mean what Spencer started!# Tala sighed again and turned to the raven. "You will get ready Rei." The raven shook his head in denial. "But…"

"I SAID… you will be ready. Get some sleep." And with that he left the room, pushing his way through his companions in irritation. Kai followed right behind leaving the Falcon in the doorway. Rei and he fell into a silent staring contest. "What?" Rei finally hissed in an annoyed tone.

"Good luck kitten." Bryan said with a smirk and put out the light and closed the door. The raven glared at the wooden frame for the comment, before pulling the cover over his head with a frustrating groan.

* * *

The red head shadow closed his door behind him and didn't bother to put on the bad light. His bad mood had turned to a head ache. For him, this night had been one of the most annoying ones in a long time, and he had experience of bad nights before. He threw his cloak and armless-jacket on the floor and sat down on his torn mattress on the floor and there he started to take off his boots. The task made him hiss suddenly and he looked at his hand where dirty wound stung. He dismissed it quickly and lay down instead to look up at the dark ceiling. His ice blue eyes revealed how tired he was and he was on the edge to fall asleep when his door suddenly opened making him jump up on his knees. Without warning bad light bulb was turned on and the dim light was bright enough for Tala that it actually hurt in his eyes. He glared at his comrade while shielding his eyes from the light as Bryan closed the door behind him. "Good, you are still up." The Falcon said simply.

"Knock before you enter asshole." The red head said, not hiding his condemning tone but it only made the Falcon smirk at him. "I knew you would ignore that wound." He said and held up a bottle of water and a first aid kit. Tala looked at his comrade and saw that the Falcon didn't showed any signs of injuries. Even though that was a good sign he still felt a little irritated over it. He didn't like to be the only one messing up and not in front of Bryan.

He turned around with his back towards the other. "Just put it by the door. I take care of it." He expected to hear the door open and therefore he was surprised as he was firmly turned around. "Except that I know you won't." Bryan said.

"What the hell, let go of me." Tala hissed and started to struggle making the Falcon more annoyed. He firmly gripped the younger's wrists and held them tight. "Stop moving or I will pin you down."

"Get the hell out of here!" Tala growled not too loud that he would wake the others but still raising the volume of his voice. "You don't want to mess with me right now."

"It's not about messing with you; I'm just going to treat your wound."

"It's nothing!"

"It's dirty." Bryan argued as he tried to take a clearly look at it but Tala closed his hand defiantly. The Falcon sighed and stayed true to his word and forced the red head down on the mattress, Tala fought him but lost in strength and growled as Bryan put his knee over his ribs and pulled the wounded hand closer for inspection. Since Tala used his free hand to try to remove the knee, the Falcon could use both of his hands to open the palm and look at the scratch without being disturbed. "When are you going to learn that it's useless to fight me?" He said and held back a snicker as the Wolf used all his might to force away his weight and failed. Tala panted twice before he too smirked at the challenge. "Careful, Bry. Don't underestimate me."

"I never do." He answered simply. "Now, stop being so stubborn, the quicker you let me do this, the quicker you get rid of me."

The red head looked at him for a moment and with a low growl he relaxed enough with that knee still in his side and opened his hand fully making the Falcon nod in appreciation. They sat in silence for a while as Bryan poured the water over the wound and made it clean with some cotton from the first aid box. "You know you don't have to look so pissed off." He said and snickered a little this time. He knew so well that the red head was a sour loser when they wrestled. Tala glared at him. "Why are you so smug? This night sucked."

"Why do you say that? We got the information." Bryan started to wrap the hand in a white bandage, not taking his eyes from the task.

"So much effort and so little information. With a little luck we could have located Claude but instead we got that trash. Almost such a waste. Brooklyn will be tough to catch and even tougher to interrogate. It might not even gain us anything."

Bryan snickered. "Don't worry, I'll get him to sing."

Tala ignored the joke and turned away. "I just thought it could have gone better. We had losses too."

"Your weapon will come back. Spencer will probably find a way, and you have another one like you said."

"Yeah whatever…" Tala muttered and pulled his hand back as Bryan tied the knot. "Don't be like that Red, what's up with you tonight?" The Falcon asked as he let himself to be pushed aside as the red head got up to his feet, relieved to have the sharp pressure gone from his ribs. He was walking back and forward and shook his head. "You just don't get it…" He said more to himself.

"Get what?" Bryan said which made Tala turned to him fully.

"My whip is not the problem, we almost had an even bigger loss and you act like nothing happened." The red head said and looked into those confused eyes and he didn't see an ounce of understanding. "Never mind, get out." He started to walk over to his mattress but the Falcon grabbed his arm firmly. "How about you skip all these hints and speak the fuck up? How am I supposed to understand when you won't talk to me?"

Tala yanked free from the grip and pushed him back towards the door. "I said get out!" He hissed and stared him straight in the eyes in a game Bryan was familiar with. The Falcon approached him confidently and reached for the Wolf who growled loudly this time. "Don't touch me!" Bryan halted his movement and frowned at him. He had misjudged the situation? Tala was dead serious. The red head showed his teeth in lower growl. "Get out." His fists were clutched shut and ready to give a punch if needed.

"Fine!" He growled back and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Tala stood still after the bang, breathing heavy. His heart was pounding like he had been running through the block, and yet… he felt like he was too worked up to sleep. Why did he have these contradicting feelings?

* * *

**(Six days to mission, 28 days to test.) **

Rei was panting as he was running on a step-machine. It looked like the miniature of an escalator. One of the few machines that had not been worthy to bring along from the gym area in the training hall. Not that the raven minded, with a slight kick it had started without a problem. He had been running for a lifetime when the door opened and Tala entered the hall.

"I see you are finally up." The red head stated making the raven mentally wince. He had overslept but, to be honest with himself, there were no way he had been able to wake up earlier. His body was tired and so was his mind because of all stress.

"Yeah, I'm sorry…" He started but the shadow shook his head. "You are here now, that's the main thing. Let's begin."

Rei smiled in appreciation. "Ok!" He pushed the button that made the steps stop rolling and jumped off the machine. He dried his forehead with the back of his wrists and approached the other. The red head seemed to be in a much better mood today and it showed. Sure, he wasn't smiling back or anything like that but he seemed more focused. Rei liked the feeling that he was starting to get to know the shadows. Slowly but surely.

"Have you been thinking more about your movements? How you can mix them with hand to hand combat?" Tala started as they sat down on the floor.

"Well… I guess my speed is my best chance." He answered.

"You are guessing right. Listen; the reason why I'm the one training you is because you and I have the similar body type. Not the typical strength type compared to him and Bryan."

Rei nodded in understanding and watched as Tala got up again. He pulled out a new whip that was more torn than the other he lost the night before. "I chose this weapon because my strength is when I have the enemy on a good distance." He lashed out and the leather whistled in the air. "By keeping them away I have the free ground to move around on. When I catch someone, I have to move even more and choose the angles right because I'm not strong enough to have a tug contest with some of the bigger guys."

"So you think I should choose a whip too? I talked to Kai yesterday when you were out and he told me that I could choose a defense weapon. But if you train me with a whip then I guess I can…"

"No, you misunderstand. It's not about a whip Rei. I'm trying to get you to understand your own strength. I just told you my battle style. Can you compare that to yours?"

"Well, it's hard to compare, I'm not able to keep them at bay like you can. I'm not that skilled."

"That's because you are focusing on the wrong things." Tala said and sat down again. "It's kind of amusing that I need to spell it out for you."

"Just don't tell Bryan." The raven muttered.

"Think about it Rei; what is your strength? You said it before."

He thought about for a moment. "My speed?"

Tala only nodded.

"But how can I only relay on that?"

"You don't need a whip to avoid getting up close, by using your speed and your acrobatic skills which I tonight am going to develop; you can choose any weapon you want. You can move around much faster and more freely than I ever could and therefore you can also train that and develop a fighting style that is not using strength but is just as effective. This is the difference between us and you need to stop being so worried of being in the way and focus on getting great in your field."

Rei shook his head with a smile. He felt embarrassed on being put on a pedestal like that. "Why do you believe in me so much? Why do you think I can do it? We only get a week… that's not much time…"

Tala once again got up on his feet. "To be honest, I have a feeling someone sees something in you and I don't want to disappoint." The corner of his mouth moved a little when Rei frowned at him; not quite understanding what he meant. "Let's start."

* * *

Stepping out of the shower Rei was drying his hair with one of his old t-shirts. That was the best he could improvise with the little resources he had at hand. It was at these moments that he really started to miss his ordinary life the most. And he didn't think he could handle it without the small things like a simple towel much longer. Even a hand towel would do fine. And then an idea popped into his mind. Would he really dare to ask..? Looking at the t-shirt in his hand he decided that yes, this was a necessity. He began listening to see if any of his companions where near, which they weren't, and after a quick change out of his improvised towel into some ordinary clothes he sprinted away in search for Tala.

Reaching the door to the shadow's room Rei stopped. One of his hands rested on the door handle and he took a deep breath, bracing for some arguing he knew would come.

He knocked lightly on the door. Hearing a low 'Come in Rei.' the raven opened it and stepped inside but kept close to the door. "How did you know it was me?" He asked.

"The others don't knock." Tala stated simply and looked up from the bag he was digging through. "Oh…" Was the only thing Rei could answer to that.

An awkward silence grew and it reminded Rei of why he was there in the first place. "Tala? Do you do anything special right now?"

"The training continues tonight." The Wolf said and continued with his task. Rei nodded and stayed put. He began to fidget. That was not what he had wanted to know, but he didn't know how else to ask. He had to try again. "Um…"

The red head looked up with a frown, hands on his hips. "What?"

"..Are you free right now?"

Tala sighed and shook his head. "Look, you shouldn't push yourself too hard. It will only have negative effect. Wait until tonight.."

"I wasn't talking about the training." The Chinese cut in and Tala's frown deepened. "Then what?"

Rei leaned on the door frame and tried to act casual compared to what he was really feeling. Damn it! Why did it have to be so hard? "I was just wondering if… you know… we could… hang out?"

"What do you mean?"

Rei had to force himself not to laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation and he did succeed by biting his lip. Tala looked kind of unsure and doubting and that rose Rei's confident a little bit. "You know. Hang out? Go somewhere, grab something to eat."

A pressure hung in the air and Tala was looking straight at him, maybe even through him, like he couldn't quite figure something out. "Did Bryan send you?" The red head then said and gritted his teeth. "If he is too lazy to bring the food today then tell him that I will.."

"No he didn't. That's not what I'm…" Rei sighed and decided to put it out on the table. "Look. I'm sorry if I didn't ask you in the right way. What I wanted was to go out and buy some things I need and was wondering if you wanted to come along with me." The raven paused. "I would feel safer with you there..." Rei felt like he had just revealed a weakness and he didn't like it. He had to be honest that he was insecure about a lot of things at the moment. But socializing didn't seem to be any of the shadows' strong side and the read head had been his best shot. He didn't really dare ask any of the others. Besides, Tala was the one he had spent the most time with, so it felt more natural to ask him.

"Why didn't you say so from the beginning? We can most likely fix it for you. What do you need?"

"Just necessary things. Like a towel, or several, shampoo, food…"

"We already have food."

"No, we have take-out. What we need is real food." The raven said with a smile and the Russian looked at him as if he was crazy for even thinking about it. "We don't have any utensils for that. We can't afford to have to so much stuff with us as we are moving around. You know that."

"Yes I do, and I do understand. But how about we buy food somewhere else? I know a few good places. If you take me there I can show you today and then we could get to know each other?"

Tala raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The Chinese couldn't help himself, he let out a little laugh. "Okay, I know I'm not the most interesting person on this planet but I can't be that boring that you wouldn't stand me for an hour or two. You have been training with me for more hours than that."

"I don't know Rei…" Tala said and began rummage about with his bag again. Almost as if he wanted something to distract himself with. And then Rei realized something. The red head was thinking about it. He had yet to call him stupid and throw him out of the room. Tala was actually considering it. So the Chinese took the chance and stepped further inside the room. "Please Tala, Let's hang out. It will be fun."

"How do you know that it will be fun?"

"Come on. It will be something out of the everyday life you have. Don't you ever long to get out there again, just acting normal for a while?" Tala stopped his movements and the raven grinned happily as he saw the other contemplating it. "Please? I know you would love to get out from here too."

Tala snorted out a 'hn' and glared. Something that reminded Rei about someone else but he mentally shook his head and let the thoughts fly away. Instead he challenged that glare. Without changing the firmness of that glare Tala spoke after a while. "Fine. One hour. But that's it."

"Great! You won't regret it." Rei beamed and ran out of the Wolf's room and all the way into the kitchen to fetch his jeans jacket. In one of the corridors he met up with Tala again, who was putting on his own leather jacket, and together they walked towards the entrance. Rei was so happy that he managed to get Tala to come with him that he hardly noticed when he almost collided into Kai. Instinctively he spun around just in time not to hit the shadow and with light feet skipped further ahead.

The Russian leader raised his eyebrows at the retreating back and then looked at Tala. His comrade answered his silent question with an even voice. "We are going to hang out."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

The Phoenix let his eyes follow down the corridor where the Chinese had disappeared. And before he realized it, it slunk out of his mouth. "Be careful."

Tala simply nodded in affirmation and followed the energized bundle down the hall.

* * *

The doors to the food store opened and the shadow duo entered the shopping area. Dressed without their cloaks they quickly mixed in with the others costumers. Rei glanced at Tala who was looking like he would hit anyone any second. The red head had looked up at the ceiling the first thing he did when they arrived. Probably looking for cameras. "Relax. It's going great." Rei whispered, trying to keep up a good mood. He was nervous too but felt that he needed to be a support for the other who wasn't used to being around people like he was.

"Don't worry about me."

Rei sweat dropped a little. Of course the shadow wouldn't rely on him. What was he thinking? Tala was probably irritated to be here in the first place. Decided to make the visit short he walked over to the kitchen area. He felt Tala moving not too far behind him. He almost felt like he had a bodyguard. A dangerous bodyguard.

"You know what, I think this can work." He said and took out a kit with smaller pans and pots. It was easy to take with them if they moved. He could fit this into his bag if he got rid of some other things he didn't need. "Why are you so fixating on food?" Tala asked skeptically and stepped aside as one person walked passed them. He looked tenser and tenser as the minutes were passing by.

"I think we will need to eat good food to keep up our strength."

"We already get food, so why waste your energy on this?"

"I'm talking about food that gives more nutrition and doesn't plug your blood vessels."

"And who will make that good food, if I can ask?"

"I will." The raven said simply with a shrug. He looked up and was caught in a staring contest with Tala.

"You know how to cook?"

"Well… I guess I can. I have been cooking for myself for half a year." Rei said, trying to seem confident but failing still. "Just c'mon." He said to close the discussion. He took the kit and continued to the center of the store.

He reached for some hygiene products on the way and again looked at Tala who sighed. "Can you stop it? Mind your own business." The red head murmured. Rei noticed another tone than he was used too. Tala spoke to him almost like a comrade instead of a teacher. "I would if you stopped looking like a shoplifter." He said before he could stop himself and he held back a snicker by Tala's expression. "I'm not looking like a shoplifter." The red head said.

"I'm just saying, try and relax a little more. You look like you just waiting for someone to come and get you."

"That's just stupid." The red head said and walked ahead. Rei followed him, still grinning. He actually thought this was an interesting psychology test.

They reached the vegetable stand and Rei started to pick out food for him. He picked out lettuce, tomatoes, corn, paprika, apples, and oranges. Tala raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think you're overdoing it?"

"What? I want a good salad." He said and smiled as he saw an old lady approach his comrade.

"Excuse me, young man. Would you mind handing me one of those?" She said to Tala and pointed at the apples. He looked at her with arms crossed over his chest, frozen like a statue for a moment. Rei waited for something to happen. He wasn't sure if it was going to be a good ending or bad. After what seemed like an eternity he stepped forward to help the lady himself, when it happened. Tala reached up and carefully took hold of a green apple and gave it to the lady who smiled warmly. "Thank you."

He nodded back and she left them there with slightly shakily steps. Rei smiled at Tala. "Good shadow!"

Tala glared at him and walked over to the other side of the disk. Rei checked his vegetables before following him. As he came to the same side as the other he saw Tala fill a bag with lemons. He eyed them slightly and waited for an answer but Tala ignored him. "You're really forcing me to ask." Rei said as he was almost left behind.

"Don't ask, mind your own business." Tala answered and headed to the check-out. Rei, deciding that he also was done, followed his example.

They exited the shop and were met with a strong sun on the sky. The sidewalk was crowded with happy people who enjoyed the nice weather. Tala on the other hand put a hand above his eyes to block out the annoying light. His skin looked even paler in bright daylight. It was clear to Rei that the red head worked during night.

A sudden scream caught his attention and he looked over to the left. A boy came running towards their direction with two police officers after him. Rei looked as the cop grabbed hold of the kid and slammed him against a parked car. The kid was struggling and screaming but the officers were firm and put handcuffs on him.

Rei was going to keep on walking when he caught sight of the blonde officer. "Hey, isn't that-?"

"Yeah." Tala answered.

"Shouldn't we-?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Are you crazy? You have a warrant on your head. Besides, Spencer doesn't know us. Let's go."

Rei reluctantly walked away from the scene. It felt kind of strange to see the man who had rescued him and not be able to talk with him. They were like strangers. He had to be careful so he didn't mess up Spencer's job. The blonde officer seemed to have enough work on his hands, while talking heatedly with his colleague with purple hair. They seemed to have a discussion of some sort.

Tala suddenly took his arm, pulling him out from his thoughts. He quickly recovered after that and took the lead to their next destination. "Hey, I know a place we can go to!"  
The redhead simply followed without a word.

* * *

"Your ideas just getting more and more stupid." Tala said as he was leaning against a blue Ford Focus. They were standing on the other side of the street by the raven's old school. Rei was amazed how he had convinced the red head to go this far, but after seeing Spencer he felt like he wanted contact with his old friends. Not real contact, but he felt like he had to see them at least. That would help his spirit a lot. He felt the irritated mood of Tala but he didn't care when the big door to the school opened and students in black and red uniforms exited the big castle looking building.

'Where are they?' He thought and looked for blonde hair or a familiar baseball cap but found none and he started to hesitate. Maybe Tyson and Max had the day off? He wasn't so sure. He looked at the next group of people that left the building but got the same result. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had hoped to just get a glance at his friends at least.

"Rei… let's go." Tala said behind him making him turn around.

"A few minutes more please. I know they should be here somewhere…"

The red head didn't answer. He just nodded his head to the left and Rei looked at the direction. A group of girls with the black and red uniform were standing on the same sidewalk as them and was whispering among themselves. One skinny, brown haired girl in the middle was blushing madly while looking at Tala and it was obvious to the raven what the topic was about. "Oh, great." He muttered sarcastically and watched how the girl walked forward towards them after a light push from her giggling friends. She was still blushing and looked like she was thinking about what to say when she would reach the red head.

Rei walked over to his comrade. Tala seemed oblivious about what the girl wanted but he didn't like to be talked to none the less. Rei let himself be grabbed in the arm by the tense red head and led away before the girl could reach them and the raven heard her light voice behind them while they picked up the pace. "Excuse me!" she called out but was ignored.

Because of this temporary distraction, Rei failed to notice the blonde and blue haired students that left the school buildings last of their class.

* * *

"Wolf, are you alright?" Rei asked as they walked through the tunnel to their hideout. The red head didn't talk very much in general but he was even more silent now. The raven knew what it was about but he didn't want to push things. He admitted it had been a little too much going on, since it was the first day for the shadow to be out in public, but at the same time, he didn't feel like he could have foreseen that the red head turned out to be a chick magnet. Sure, Tala seemed to care a little more about appearance than Bryan or Kai, with his slightly different outfit, but that was all. He wasn't that type of person who played on his looks, so how would Rei know that he was so eye-catching.

"Of course I am." Tala replied. "But I won't go unprepared next time." Tala answered when they shut the doors closed to the van.

"So you won't do a spontaneous visit in the city anymore? Just be locked up inside all the time, when we are not fighting and have missions?" Rei said with a chocked tone. He looked at the red head who just glanced back. "You sound like it's a bad thing."

It is a bad thing! It's not healthy! It's a life taken from one of those cheesy vampire movies! Rei wanted to scream out but he still had control enough to not picking a fight. His patience was being tested though.

Tala yanked up door and Rei picked up the familiar scent of old building.

"Get ready, we are leaving in five minutes." Tala said as they marched up the stairs.

A moment later, the raven was picking up things from his bag and looked for something that he hadn't been using too much lately. He had been forced to use most of his things for his training lately, but thankfully he had spotted a store where he could wash his stuff. He didn't care what the shadows said. They would have to kill him to keep him from going there from time to time. He regretted the thought quickly; knowing well that they might as well do it.

He knew the time was running out and he emptied his bag on the sofa and the thing that was packed on the top of the pile was something he had forgot that he had.

It was a traditional Chinese outfit like his usual, but this one was made of black soft cotton. He remember using it the day he came to USA cause he wanted to make a good impression and not be spotted like some poor Chinese guy. In the first day of school, he had stood out much more than he wanted to. So the first thing he did after school he had went out and bought new American clothes and he never wore the outfit again.

It hadn't been too expensive since he still wore a school uniform but he had to find something more useful on a daily basis.

Right now, he did admit that he missed the Chinese style. Probably because he didn't like New York anymore. He didn't blame the town only, because he knew it was his own fault for being in this situation but still… USA didn't feel the same like it used too. He had less admiration and more respect for it.

He took a last look at the black outfit with red straps and then put it aside. He grabbed a black turtle neck shirt and put it on before grabbing his cloak and left the room.

Tala and Bryan was already on the yard and Kai was nowhere to be seen. The two shadows were talking in a low tone with each other when he closed the door behind him. He glanced up at the sky: it was starting to get dark so he couldn't help but to feel a little suspicious of what training Tala had in mind this time.

"I told you he would get it right and wear black." Tala said to Bryan who just looked disappointed. The Falcon muttered under his breath and opened the side door to the van. Rei looked at the red head who just looked smug. "He doesn't give you enough credit."

"Right." Rei said as Tala got into the driving seat. He let out a relieved sigh when nobody looked. He had chosen black clothes by chance. Not that he would admit that now. He opened the door to the passenger seat and jumped in and they were off on the road. It was very silent ride and the raven just tried to relax in the others' company. With Tala it was alright, but he knew what Bryan thought about him. That was enough to make anybody nervous.

At first they were driving quite centrally, he recognized some streets and he wondered why. He had the impression that they shouldn't be driving so close to the police controls. But then his questions were answered when they continued out in a more solitary neighborhood.

Rei closed the door to the van Bryan had parked in an ally. Above them where a very tall building that the raven guessed was apartments. He could only guess though, he had never been in this neighborhood before. Tala got out from the vehicle as well but stayed at the driver door where Bryan opened the window. "We'll wait for nightfall Rei." The redhead said and turned to the Falcon.  
Rei leaned on the wall a little further away and waited patiently. The two shadows seemed to talk with each other with a tension between them. The raven figured that they probably had fought sometime during the day, like always. Hopefully nothing more serious. Tala shrugged something off and turned around to lean on the door, Bryan took the chance to say something in his ear.  
Feeling kind of restless, Rei decided to walk over and see if Tala had some instructions for him. "I said drop it, it wasn't important anyway…" He heard the red head say as he closed in on them. The Falcon looked up when the raven approached the van, and Rei met his cold eyes. Tala didn't try to affect the tension between them. Suddenly Bryan changed into his Russian tongue making Rei feel the urge to snort and roll his eyes. Tala simply nodded as answer and turned to the raven. "Are you ready? It's almost time."  
"Yeah. Of course I am." He said and tried to sound confident. The last thing he wanted was to show the Falcon how distressed he was on the inside. Tala seemed to read his lie but said nothing about it. Bryan leaned on the edge of the window with a smirk. He didn't need to know the Russian language to know that the Falcon made fun of him. The sentence was short but the tone was spiteful. The silver haired shadow turned to Tala again and continued to say things Rei didn't understand.

"No, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours." Tala answered. Bryan nodded and started the engine. Then he said something else.

"Then talk to him about it." The redhead called back and motioned for Rei to go over to the wall. Rei looked back at Bryan, probably to make sure the Falcon didn't run him over with the van. The maniac seemed amused over something and soon he called out in English as the started to reverse the vehicle. "Make sure to not lose you whip this time!"

Tala turned around with hate in his eyes, making Rei back off a little. The redhead hissed something in Russian this time and by the look of Bryan's expression, it had not been nice words. The van backed out and disappeared with a roaring sound. Rei shook his head a little. Shouldn't Bryan at least try and keep a low profile?

He heard Tala mutter something under his breath before turning to him fully. "Let's go up." He said and pointed above them.

Rei simply nodded before jumping up and grabbed hold of the ladder and yanked it down for them to climb. Tala went first with a quick pace and Rei followed him all the way to the top of the old looking building. Rei's black hair was moving by the wind as he looked out at the view around him. "Wow." He murmured at the black view with hundreds of window lights from the buildings surrounding them.

Tala walked out to the center of the roof with his cloak tightly around him. "Try and move around, feel the terrain."

Rei ran forward and made a side-vault and landed on his knees. He fixed his cloak for a second before going to his feet and made a back flip. Again he fixed the dark fabric. Tala observed him. "You will have to practice with that, it distracts you."

"Yeah, too much fabric. But I can handle it." The raven answered and continued with his movements. He spotted the wall to a big fan and used it. He ran up on it three steps before back-flipping back on to his feet. He yanked the fabric as he landed and got a much better result. Tala watched his acrobatic skills and was pleased with how the movements looked more spot-on than last time he saw them. It was noticeable the raven had practiced hard. "Tomorrow, we will use your movements while fighting. " He said and motioned the Chinese to follow him. He stood on the edge and took a glance over the edge to the building next to the one they were standing on before turning to the raven.

"We are going home now. You need to learn this quickly because flight is your best weapon right now."

"Ok, what do you want me to do?" Rei asked and fixed his hood. He watched as Tala walked over to him but then suddenly ran towards the edge and jumped. His golden eyes widened as the red head flew over the gap between the buildings and landed with a vault on the other roof before turning towards him. "No way, you do Parkour? I should have known." The Chinese cried out.

"C'mon, get to it! It's your turn."

Rei stepped forward and looked over the edge. It was a dark alley beneath and he couldn't see anything but darkness down there, so he wouldn't know what to land on if he fell. He hoped he wouldn't have to find out either. "I don't like this. I'm not sure if…" He said more to himself, but Tala came flying back and landed next to him, interrupting his insecureness. "Yes you are, it's all in your head." He pushed the raven back for a moment. "Shake lose. Relax your body."

Rei jumped on the spot, waving his arms around to ease up his muscles and then rolled his shoulders to relax them even further. "You know what to do, this is nothing compare to your regular training, you just think it is." Tala said with crossed arms.

"It's not the same; I don't have a safety line here." Rei objected.

"Yes you do, I am your safety line. Let's go."

"Alright then." Rei said. He knew that promise was all he was going to get from Tala. He could forget all those lines like _I won't let you fall _or _you are safe with me _or even_ you can trust me- _comments. But it was fine; He could manage without. In fact, he was glad that Tala helped him out in the first place. With a focused expression back in place he got into a start stance and waited for the red heads signal.

"Remember the first jump is always a little difficult because you don't know the length of the space between the buildings within yourself. Therefore I want you to forget about that. Jump as far as you can, your body will know with time to measure the spaces. "

"Sounds logical enough. Let's go before I realize what a crazy idea this is." The raven said with a smirk and he could have sworn he saw the corner of Tala's mouth move for a moment. "Fine." The shadow answered. "Hood up." He instructed and Rei quickly complied. "Ready, go!"

It all happened so fast. First he was running four powerful steps and then he jumped from the edge that felt like the first step in a staircase. The next thing he knew he was flying through the cold air, his black cape lifted from the force and air resistance. He let out a scream of joy when he saw how easily he flew over the edge of the other building and kept going over the roof. He was so pleased that he failed the landing and rolled the last few meters while Tala landed with a vault beside him. Rei rolled even further and ended up flat on his back. "Woah!" He screamed again and even laughed. "What a rush!" He could feel the adrenaline in his body and how his heart was pounding hard. He was aware that he must look stupid for grinning so wide when the red head came over to his side but he didn't care.  
He looked up to Tala who crossed his arms in his usual pose and shook his head lightly. The thing was, he didn't look displeased, more like… smugly amused.

"What the hell was that?" The shadow asked in a calm tone. "Did you forget how to use your feet to land?"

"I don't know, or care, it was great!" He answered and got to his feet. "Let's do it again!"

The evening continued with more jumps between the same two roofs. Rei felt quite safe with the jumps for being the first time, but not so safe that he could relax and not put all his might into the jumps. After all, he rather jump too far than not far enough. Tala continued to comment on his landings. The first time had been the only time where he had landed on his side, but he still didn't make the vaults that Tala had requested. Instead he continued to jump and made a few running steps after the landing which was fine the first few times until he once stumbled or the time after ran too far that he had to break the fall against the door to the stairs of the second building.

"I'm telling you Rei, make a vault. It's easier." Tala said as the raven landed with half balance next to him again.

"Is it really? What if I'm in a hurry and need to continue on my path. Keep running all the way must be the easiest way to do so, right? He asked and stretched his legs a little. The landings actually affected his legs.

"Damn kid, you have so much to learn." Tala said and motioned for him to sit down. "Where do I even start?"

"Please, just start somewhere where I can relate to and not at the start of Parkour history." He said but kept quiet when Tala shot him a glare.

"Why I'm telling you to make a vault is because it will help you in every way. I'm not making this up. Right now you are jumping very high and you land very heavily on your feet. Don't deny it; your leg muscles and joints are already sore. Let say you continue this in your way for like… fifteen more rooftops. After that your legs will give in and you won't go any further for a while. And that is time you probably can't afford if you are being chased." Tala pointed out at the city. "Fifteen or something close to it is not enough. We train and run through New York blocks all the time Rei. That means fifty or seventy rooftops in one night easy, with different heights. So all in all; the weight on your legs, that are your main tools in this case; is way too much. You always have to think about saving energy, and that you will accomplish with a simple vault. When you Vault after a landing, you only use a small amount of your weight on your legs because the bend after touching the ground. The rest of the energy is being used in the rolling. It makes you save so much more for the running part. Not to mention the fact that you not always going to have this much space to move on. Sometimes you will land on a space where you can't run forward and a simple vault let you control if you want to stop on the spot or keep going." He said and looked over to the raven who suddenly looked very sour.

"Was that enough explaining or was it too complicated for you?" Tala finished, making the raven snort and turned to glare at the night view instead. "You simply could have just said, make a vault…" He said and glanced at the shadow at the corner of his eye.

"I did! It's you who don't get it into your simple head!" Tala suddenly growled with intensity and jumped up from his sitting position causing Rei to slide to the side in surprise. "Hey! You don't have to get so worked up for it, I get it now, make a vault." He shouted back.

"It shouldn't have to be this damn difficult. You are a gymnast for fuck sake so make the damn vault!"

"FINE! I do the damn vault!" Rei growled and got to his feet as well, not feeling safe on the ground when Tala was annoyed at him. Damn, the fact that he thought that Bryan was a jerk would probably never change, but he really thought that Tala's temper was unique. Frustrated, he got ready for a new jump when Tala held out his arm in front of him to block his path. "No, you start on this roof."

"What, why?" The raven protested.

"Because I'm not sure you can do it right, otherwise you would have done it by now. And I will not tell Kai that you hurt yourself on you first night training."

Rei held back a comment of his own but moved away from the edge. He really wanted to bit back for the condescending tone but he figured that if he pushed the red head's patience he would probably get himself pushed of the roof. He continued his training with jumping back and forward, practicing his landing with vaults. It wasn't that difficult he admitted, but he didn't like to be treated like an idiot. Feeling that Tala might be angry at him for the rest of the night, he felt the will to train fade a little. Suddenly he saw Tala turn around and look at the view again. "It looks fine Rei, let's go back." He said as the raven approached him. The tone was completely different from before which surprised the Chinese. Now the air around them was calm again, like nothing happened before. Rei felt himself smile, it seemed like he was fine after all. "Sure," He answered.

Rei figured that their current running time back to the hide out was way longer than usual, but even so Tala was very patient with him and skipped the highest buildings. At least that was what the raven guessed because sometimes Tala made them leave the buildings to use the backstreets instead. It drew them a little out of course but not so much that they lost track of their goal. By now, Rei felt very good in spirit, his confidence had been helped by this training. The first good sign in a very long time. It was worse with the fighting skills. This kind of training, he could relate to. He had some sort of control. He even enjoyed the thrilling feeling of jumping off roofs.  
As they were running over one of the many buildings, Rei recognized Tala suddenly made a hand sign to stop. He joined the red head on the edge and looked down on the street as a big chain of cop cars were passing by in high speed and with the blue lights on. Luckily it was to theirs opposite direction. Rei couldn't help but to wonder if Spencer was in one of them. "What do you think happened?" He asked Tala who shook his head. "Could be anything, this is the big apple after all."

The shadow ran over to the other side. "C'mon we'll take the back street, just to be sure." Rei ran after him and saw how Tala jumped over the edge and grabbed the fire escape. He pressed his feet on the outside of the ladder and therefore slides down in falling speed before landing on the ground. Rei jumped down as well, using three steps at the time before landing beside the other. After waiting a few moments, Tala gave a head sign in what direction to go and they continued their way back home.

It was almost morning when they arrived at the house and to Rei's surprise he saw Bryan leaning on the door frame. It didn't take long before he knew that the Russian was in a bad mood.

"Where the hell have you been Wolf?" The Falcon growled and didn't bother to hold back on how pissed off he really was. Rei felt himself look down on the ground. He knew he was the reason why they were late, but he wasn't fond on getting into Bryan's crossfire right now. Suddenly he felt Tala's hand on his shoulder. "Go inside Rei."  
The raven nodded awkwardly and slowly walked past the Falcon who didn't even look at him. He was hesitant to leave the two of them there. Not because he was worried about Tala, but because he didn't want them to fight because of him. He stopped at the door with the hand on the door handle. "Are you sure?"

"What part of _go inside_ is it that you don't understand, you brainless insect." Bryan yelled without even turning around to face him. Rei glared at his back but went but entered the house. As the door shut closed behind him, he could still hear their voices from outside because of the old door wood.

"What were you thinking Tala? You said a couple of hours tops, it's been all night."

"I know what time it is Bry. We had some things to work on and it turned out fine. Rei's progress…"

"I don't give a shit about his fucking progress! That he needs training is one thing, but we can't afford to lose you just because that wimp needs a babysitter all the time!"

Rei tried to not be affected but the words were very harsh and real. He hadn't thought about that his training in the city might put Tala at risk. What if they actually had been attacked? He wouldn't have been able to do a thing. Even though Bryan was an asshole, he was right in this matter.

"When are you going to see that Rei is an asset and not a burden? He will probably join the team for real later Bryan, so why not drop the bully attitude."

"I won't see him as an asset until he proves himself. There were a dozen cop cars in this block a while ago, do you think he would have been an asset if you had been caught by them?"

"I'm not that stupid to let myself or Rei get into trouble on the open street. But you would know that if you had a little faith!"  
Rei moved a little when he heard light footprints coming closer towards the door. Probably Tala's.

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I forgot to look up that word!" Bryan yelled back and Rei choose that moment to leave the discussion to the shadows. He tore off his hairband and let his hair fall freely as he walked up the stairs. Bryan did underestimate Tala in his opinion. He felt very safe with the red head during his training. He decided that instead of blaming himself this time for being dependent and useless, he made a mental note to ask Tala for a back- up plan if something where to happen next time they were out.

He wasn't going to give up his training unless Tala told him too… maybe not even then.

**TBC.**

**Next Chapter; "Spencer's Advice." **


	12. Spencer's Advice!

**Hello, Chapter twelve is out; Spencer's Advice!**  
**BETA: Bonnie-San**  
**Rating: M**  
**Warning: Violence, harsh language, possible character death, alcohol, smoking and sex scenes. **  
**Pairing: Kai/Rei. Maybe others.**  
**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters in this story, only the plot and some of the weapons. **

"**Talking"**  
**`Thinking´**  
**#Speaking Russian#**  
"_Rei telling the story"_

**On with the story!**

* * *

Another morning came and Rei walked down the stairs to the gymnastics hall. He had woken up by the angry voice of Bryan. Like he hadn't heard enough from the night before. Something about a stolen breakfast, but he didn't stay to hear the rest of the fight. Stuff like that was the last thing he wanted to get involved in.

_**I can't afford to lose you Tala, just because that wimp needs a babysitter all the time!**_

_**I won't see him as an asset until he proves himself! **_

"I can do this. I can." Rei said to himself as he continued with his movement against an invisible opponent. The movement was new to him but he admitted that it would have been worse if he hadn't had his gymnastic skills from the start. Bryan's words from the night before still haunted his mind, but he decided that it would not get into his head a longer period. Bryan didn't know him; he didn't know how hard he was working. He was going to see his progress first hand later. All he had to do was to keep working to perfection.

He hit with his right hand that was aimed for the temple and then got lower with a sweep kick. He knew that if he could work on his speed and hit first maybe he didn't need to hit hardest. It would take too long time to work on both strength and speed at the same time and time was something he was short off. He would have to make a choice and speed was best compatible with his inborn movements. He continued to punch the air, sometimes even kicking high and low, until he heard the door open.  
He ignored it. He wanted to keep going until he was forced to quit.

"Don't ignore the door like that, if I was an enemy, you could have a bullet in your head right now." Tala said firmly, making him jump. He turned to the redhead who looked at him disapprovingly with a hand on his hip.

"Right." He said in a small awkward tone. He didn't like being judged right now. Looking at the shadow with a tense face he couldn't help but to wonder how Tala thought about him since Bryan words last night.

Without a word Tala approached him and took hold of his shoulders. "When you punch, don't just use your arm but your whole body weight." He said and pushed Rei's body forward slightly. "It's only Bryan who has the luxury in form of strength to do that. You with your built have to rely on technique to get the same effect. Take every tip you get and make it your own style."

Rei practiced the movement repeatedly, feeling that the advice helped him a lot. Tala continued to give a small series of movements. First his right fist, then his left fist, and last an uppercut.

"Remember, this is good movement to work on when you want to ease up your muscles before a mission. But you can't rely on them blindly out on the streets. Every fool learns this pattern early."

"Alright."

Tala showed him many tricks that could be useful against a stronger opponent. He had Rei attack him with simple punches, and showed how he could use simple things to catch the attacker off guard.

"Block to the side. And since you already are this close to him, don't back away. It takes too much time. Grab him in the back off the neck, pull him forward and hang your weigh on him so you can reach up with a good knee in the gut. And the power behind that knee should be so hard that it's supposed to go through him." Tala instructed and showed Rei where that knee should hit.

Rei tried to take in all the information. Tala descriptions were kind of harsh and full of details how to harm the opponent as effectively as possible. He wanted to show that he was willing to learn, and yet keep it in a self-defensive style.

Tala and he jumped apart and Rei attacked again making Tala show him a new series of steps. "Take a big step with your right foot out to the right side; watch out for a second punch. If it comes, roll back your shoulder, because he will have to take another step forward to reach you. Then he will be in your space and you'll have to change from defense to offence, but more about that later." Rei nodded and looked carefully when Tala came on to his left side. "What I'm about to say is something that will be repeated over and over again until it finally sinks in, because it will make a difference. Never waste your punches on pointless places that will only cause bruises. Two reasons; it won't be effective and you will appear stupid. Aim here…" He said and pointed at the middle of the chest where the heart was. "And here…" he said and pointed on the left side behind Rei's ribs; the kidneys. "No matter how well trained his body is, nobody can train the organs."

"Is this the first things you aim at or the only thing you aim at?"

"Of course not. We also have gut, nose and throat." Tala growled and shoved him to the side. "You really need to get this Rei; the shitheads out there won't go easy on you, so why show them mercy?"

'Because I'm not like them...' He almost argued but managed to keep it inside.

_An hour passed but for me it felt much longer. My shoulders and back hurt and my legs were slightly shaking. Normally I would have the stamina to train like this, but my body was not the only thing taking a beating. I was also mentally exhausted. The pressure, after so many days of training in a row, had really taken its toll. I could only hope that I wouldn't break down in front of Tala now. I needed his help and to get this done. _

"Hit harder. Like you mean it."

Rei kept punching the air with concentration. He was wearing a blindfold so he would get better contact with his body language.

"Watch your shoulders. Get into the sharp movement."

The raven took in the information like a sponge and kept working until Tala went quiet, which was a good sign. If he didn't comment on it then it was good.

"Do you feel the strength behind the punch?" The shadow asked after a while of more practice. Rei vaguely head the redhead's footsteps move around him, but he forced himself focus on his movement.

"Yeah."

"Do you feel it's a damaging hit?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then."

Suddenly and without a warning, Rei's fist connected with something solid, making his knuckles give up the fight. "Ow! Damn it, what did I just hit!?" Rei yelled and held his sore hand.

"I told you. If you would have put your weight in the punch then it would have gone through the object." Tala said and stopped Rei who tried to take the blindfold off in anger.

"**Object**!? What object?"

"This is also what you need to learn. It doesn't matter what object, your task was to hit with full power. It's the same with your opponents. You don't need to know anything about them, not their names, backgrounds, or even if they have families or whatever. He is the enemy and won't show you any mercy so be the one who hit first."

_Another hour passed by with that kind of training, and the next thing I knew, I was learning the hand signs that they used in missions._

"No, that was 'observe'." Tala corrected as they sat on the floor. Rei groaned and tried again. "Ok, Ok, this one then; one open hand is 'Stop'…"

"Wrong again. One open hand is 'Stand by'. One closed fist is 'stop'. We use that when we are in motion. Know the difference." Tala said and continued. "Point at your left shoulder with your right index finger means 'pull back', point with your whole hand forward means attack."

"Attack? Wasn't that one 'move with caution'?"

"No! Point with your index and long finger forward while keeping them in temple level means 'move forward with caution'! Damn, are you going to send us in to get killed?"

"I'm sorry! I'll get it soon." The raven said, frustrated.

"You better, or I will smack it into you." Tala said and continued with the lesson. The raven nodded and got up from the floor. He was sure that the Russian would stay true to his word and he'd rather it didn't come to that end.

But frankly, he didn't have the energy or will to care either way.

* * *

"Hold out your hand."

Rei did as he was told and reached out his right hand, palm up. Tala then took it and folded in his ring and little finger, guiding the thumb to hold the two in place. The last two fingers, the index and long finger were pointing away from him.. "Remember to keep your thumb in that position. It makes the hand firmer." Tala said.

Rei looked at him questioningly.

"These two fingers come to good use when you poke them in between the ribs. Use the whole arm to support the jab. Learn the movement and how to strike fast."

Rei kept hitting with a punch, only to shift to this new hand sign. Tala gave him a few more and before he knew it he was rehearsing the different kind of strikes. Tala guided him through it.

"Punch, open palm, two fingers, hit with the side of your hand, punch, open palm, two fingers… good." Tala said making the raven hold back a smile. He felt quite sure about the movements already and was happy that Tala seemed satisfied as well. At last, something went smoothly for him.

"Training is over for now. You need to rest."

Rei was about to take of the blindfold when he felt Tala approach him. "Two fingers!" The Chinese reacted fast and hit with his two fingers and gasped when they came in contact with something. His first thought was that he was glad that it wasn't a hard surface this time or else he would have broken his fingers. No, this feeling was soft and wet, nothing special about it at all. Curiosity took the best of him and he yanked the fabric around his head off. His vision caught sight of his fingers, deep positioned in a half lemon. The same lemon that Tala bought in the store yesterday. Tala pulled back the fruit and looked at the deep hit. "Good, the deeper the better."

"Why?" was all Rei could ask.

"You probably didn't know, but hitting a lemon this way is nothing different from poking someone's eyes out. It's exactly the same feeling."

"Gah! Tala!" Rei quickly shook his hand to get rid of the juice from the fruit.

"Stop being a wimp." Tala said and followed him out of the gymnastic hall.

They opened the door and were met with the sunlight. It was a nice day. A movement from the side caught his attention. His thoughts froze and he stopped dead in his tracks.

Kai was training with his swords with an impressive speed. He was wearing his baggy pants and a simple white tank top. It had probably been white at some point, but now it was very dirty and worn out; the lack of fabric showed off his well-built arms. The leader didn´t make any sign that he had felt their presence as he was moving with grace around and slashing with his two blades in a pattern. Tala suddenly looked very smug and held up the other half of the lemon he had used on Rei minutes before. He elbowed Rei a little to get his attention. "Watch this." He whispered and threw it against the leader.

Rei´s eyes widened as he was sure the fruit would hit the Russian in the back of his head. But as if Kai had been prepared on it he turned around and skillfully cut the lemon into two pieces in the midair.  
"I have told you not to do that." He said simply, while wiping off a drop of lemon juice from his cheek with his thumb.

"Just making sure you are not getting old." Tala replied with a smug expression.

Rei didn´t know how old Kai was and after that comment he became curious to find out.

"Heard anything from Spencer about my whip yet?"

"No, it´s not easy to get things from the evidence box." Kai continued with his movement as they talked.

"He must. If they run the prints, it's going to wake up many questions."

"You had a criminal record before you died?" Rei asked curiously.

"Don't be so nosy."

"Besides, he is not that interesting anyway." Bryan cut in as he came out eating on a bowl of noodles.

"I see you are stuffing your face again." Tala said with a glare of disgust.

"I've decided that Spencer ate my breakfast."

"Oh, what gave him away? The fact that he is always the one that does it? or the fact that you couldn't get us to admit it and he was not here for interrogation. I'm curious, did you do the math all on your own?"

"Hey c'mon now…" Rei said as he felt the air around them get tenser. He didn't know that Spencer had been there today, but it was kind of odd that Bryan thought one of them had taken his food if he knew that Spencer had been around. Not that Rei knew the cop very well but it just seemed like something he could do if he wasn't even going to stay and see the result.  
All in all, he didn't like when they fought like this. Seriously, it had only gone seconds between them and they were already at it. It was too early for it too…

"Don't bother." Kai advised as he put away his swords. The people around him were probably too much of a distraction for him to continue his training. To think that Kai had lived in this for years, Rei thought before the fight between the other too caught his attention again.

"You wouldn't know math if I hit you in the head with a math book!" Bryan said clearly affected by the other's taunt about his lack of real education.

"I guess, because being hit by a math book doesn't teach you math. But you would know that if you had any sense."

The bowl fell to the ground and Bryan charged.

"Agh. Shit!" Rei jumped to the side in the last second as the Russians fell to the ground in an aggressive fist fight.

"Still not ready to fight?" Kai asked as he walked over to him. Rei looked up at him with a disbelieving look.

"Why fight in the group? Shouldn't we concentrate on the threat on the outside? This seems like a waste of energy. And besides, they really intend to hurt each other."

"Hn."

They watched how the falcon was trying to land a punch at the wolf's face, making the redhead block with his elbow while in the meantime kept a steady boot in the center of Bryan's chest to prevent him to straddle him.

"Actually, you should fight with us some more. It will give you more training. You will experience the real pain of the fight but in the end we won't kill you like the others will. You will always get a second chance here, which is a luxury you won't have on the outside. Use that as an opportunity to get more experience."

"I guess…" Rei said with a not really convincing tone. Kai must have heard it because before he knew it the leader moved away from him. He didn't want that, he wanted to take the advice he got from Kai because it didn't happen often. But at the same time, fighting his new comrades wasn't something he wanted to think of.

Bryan slammed into the ground as Tala had used the foot in his stomach and threw him over. The silver haired Russian landed on his back with a growl. Kai made this his cue to step in. "Enough."

"He started it this time!" They both said making Rei hide a smile despite his worrying feelings. It vanished though as he saw Kai's retreating back. He wanted to talk with the leader some more, but he just didn't seem to have a chance to. Kai didn't seem to give him a chance to. And he had to change that.

* * *

In the kitchen, Rei smiled at the smell of familiar food. He was trying out his newly bought kitchenware for the first time and it had turned out good. It had been an hour since the incident on the yard had ended and Bryan and Tala had walked in opposite directions while giving each other curses. He really didn't understand how they could work so well when they acted like this. He brought out a small bowl from his bag and mixed the stew with his spoon one last time before he was going to serve it.

Suddenly the door crashed open and Rei dove behind the table, quickly grabbing a chair to defend himself with. He couldn't believe it was an enemy here. Where were the others? He didn't know any special gang that would be interested in this building so he was really shocked at this situation. He looked over the table and his eyes widened.

Kai lowered his leg as he had just kicked the door in and he was holding his swords ready to attack as he entered. Rei felt himself completely relax. Sure when Kai was in this mood he was really dangerous, but even so, he was glad that it wasn't an enemy who had come for a visit. It only took a second for the Russian to know his presence by the table and if he had been surprised to see Rei there, then he wasn't showing it.

"What's up?" The raven found himself saying to ease the tension. He could have said anything at that moment and he would still sound stupid. Something Kai made him feel most of the time.

After spotting Rei, Kai took a quick look around and then lowered his weapons. "What's that scent?" He asked but found his answer as he saw Rei's food.

The raven mentally winced. He had not thought that Kai would react to the scent of food in the house. They didn't really cook so of course the smell was new, but was that really enough to make the leader go all tense and into attack mode? Kai really was a guy with war-feelings around him.

"I just threw something together." He said and showed the pot with his vegetable stew, one of his own recipes from China. He looked down and held back a smaller curse. The bowl that had come with the smaller kitchen had smashed to the floor when he dived. It was broken in three pieces. He still had two left but it felt disturbing none the less. Ignoring it for now he turned to the other. "Want some?" He asked as he saw Kai walked towards the door again, apparently leaving without a further comment. The leader stopped in the doorway just looked at him in a way only he could. He was not interested.

"I guess not. Forget it then." The raven quickly said and sat down. He could feel the Phoenix stare as he causally poured the food into his other bowl. He refused to look up, because he knew Kai's eyes were too intense for him to handle as he had made this kind of comment. But he wouldn't feel stupid this time. It had only been a polite comment, it was not his fault. He kept looking down until he was sure Kai had left the room.

* * *

The raven growled and made another round kick, then punched with his right fist, left fist, and an uppercut, vaulted on the floor, stopped in a crouching position, made a low round kick against the floor, jumped up and made a high kick as a finish. He was panting slightly after the series but his expression was still showing focus. He lifted his gloved hand and wiped his eye from a sweat drop before he looked at the dusty watch on the wall. He had been training for three hours and yet he didn't feel satisfied. He wasn't good enough yet. His moves, his strength, his speed, it wasn't good enough. "Damn it!" He cursed and kicked the floor angrily. Bryan's condescending words echoed in his mind, he could see Kai's moves with his twin-swords before his own eyes, and he knew… he still had so much to learn. His life depended on it. Then why couldn't he find the right inspiration? Was he too tense? Was he too scared? Did he sabotage himself unconsciously?

"Rei."

Rei spun around angrily with his fists up in front of himself, ready to fight. Tala watched him from the door and nodded to him. "Good." He said to the quick reaction. "C'mon, we have an errand."

The serious expression of the raven fell and he looked back in question. "Huh?"

* * *

"So why did Kai want me to come with you to this place? Does he want me to back you up or something?" Rei asked as he shifted in his seat for the third time. He was nervous because he didn't know what to expect. Apparently Kai had asked Tala to bring him along for something but he hadn't found out why yet. Maybe Kai expected him to start make himself useful and that was the problem; He hoped he could live up to the expectations.

Tala kept a close eye on the car before them as he stopped for at the red light before he glanced at the other.

"It's not a mission Rei. And of course not. Kai just want you to get familiar with the chores. That's all. Besides, it´s me who has to take care of your ass."

Rei snickered with irony. "Well, always glad to help." It wasn't a secret to Tala either that Rei still didn't feel useful in the team.

"You are helping as long as you do as I say and don't get in the way." The wolf informed him.

"So what are we going to do?"

"We are going to visit the only person we actually have contact with face to face if you don't count Spencer. This guy is Bryan's source to our weapons. Right now, we are going to get some new stuff for the mission in Central Park."

"Got it."

It took good fifteen minutes before Tala pulled the van into an ally next to an old looking building. Rei shook his head in disappointment when they stepped out from the vehicle. "You know, I'm starting to think that I'll never see another decent apartment again." He said as they both pulled up their black hoods.

"You probably right." Tala agreed and yanked a basement door open and was followed by the raven inside.

"What is this place?" Rei asked as he looked around in the first room. It was very small but the walls had tons of stuffed shelves with dusty things. He was so focused on the things around him that he walked into Tala making him step back to regain his balance. "Wha…?" was all he managed to get out before he registered the redheads hand sign to stand by. He was pretty sure by now that it was the sign for standing by. He had practiced it even in his downtime.

Tala's ice blue eyes scanned the darkness around them, he didn't know what to expect since he normally just walked inside at times like this. His vision caught movement at their right making him turn his head quickly. "Down!" he shouted to raven who threw himself at the floor. Tala also dived, making the flying object hit the wall where he had just been standing a second ago. The Russian only had time to stand up from his crouching position before he was tackled by the new presence. Rei rolled to the side to avoid getting stepped on by them. He was sure he should step in and aid his comrade but as Tala grabbed the other and literally threw the person across the room into a shelf that tipped over and crashed down. The raven covered his ears at the high noise; it completely rang in his head.

"Damnit Ian, you should have known it was me!" Tala growled and dusted himself off. Rei just stared at the fallen guy under the broken metal shelf. His eyes suddenly were blinded as Tala pushed the light switch on the wall.

After giving his eyes some time to adjust to the sudden light, Rei studied their assaulter. The guy was very small. He was groaning as he crawled out from all the mess and dusted himself off. "I heard two voices. What was I supposed to think!?" He argued and looked at Rei who avoided his stare. Again, the guy was very small, No wonder Tala had been able to throw him like that. Especially since the redhead had been able to make Bryan fly away. And the new guy, Ian apparently, wasn't even half of Bryan's size. From the looks of it he could have been a car mechanic, because he was very dirty and dressed in an overall of some sort.

"This guy is new. Are you recruiting people now?"

"No, we don't. Let's just say our path was crossed by a coincidence of having the same enemy." Tala dismissed.

Rei kept quiet and rose from the floor. First then he noticed that he was bleeding from his right arm. When he had dived, he had scratched his arm on a piece of glass. It didn't hurt and the last thing he wanted was to make a fuss over it so he simply put his hand over to stop the bleeding until they got back. He followed the other two as they entered the next room.

"So how are the business going anyway, you're obviously very jumpy these days." The redhead continued.

Ian walked over to his working table and picked up a black gun. "Actually, I think I'll need your expertise quite soon." He said as he examined it.

"Just name place and time. I'll inform Phoenix about it." Tala said and picked up a dagger from one of the other tables before turning to Rei. "Ian here has been handing out jobs for us for years now. And it is also him that gives falcon's the material for his hobby."

"Speaking of the crazy person, where is he? I was sure he would pay me a visit this time." The gun wielder said as he pushed in a clip.

"He and Phoenix has another mission. But he will show up one of these days, don't worry."

"Well until then; give him this; a little gift from me. I know he will enjoy it." Tala catches the gun and shook his head a little with a smile.

"So what can I do for you then?" Ian said and turned to Rei. "Are we getting our first toy? What kind does he need?" he asked Tala more than Rei himself.

"No he hasn't chosen yet. We need this." The redhead said and gave Ian a note who snickered as he went over to his boxes. "That Falcon… he waste bullets like no other I know."

Rei took the time and walked around. He didn't know what half the things around him were. Once again he felt lost in this violent world. He looked at box after box after box, then the big table that was stuffed with all kinds of weapons. Anything from guns, knives, metal pipes, baseball bats to more special weapons like spears, swords, nunchaku, staffs and throwing stars.

He picked up one star and looked at it more closely. It was beautiful made with shining steel.

"I don't think Falcon is going to trust you with those."

Rei looked up at Tala who was watching him. Slightly embarrassed he put the star down and backed away from the table. "I was just looking… It reminded me a bit of home." He said and turned around. It was then he saw them….

Two weapons that looked like two metal forks, or even mini swords. They were hanging upside down on the wall almost hidden from sight. He couldn't help but to take them down from the hanger to examine them closer. They were quite heavy but not too much. He had seen these kinds of weapons before in movies but he didn't know anything about them. They were completely out of metal and had three smooth edges and a round handle. The weapons were not sharp but he figured that since they were made of a strong material then it wouldn't be a problem.

"They used to be called Tjabang or even twin Dragons." Ian said as he approached him from behind. "But are today more known as Sai. Close range weapon, mostly meant for defense but one can be creative I guess."

Rei smirked at the comment and turned to Tala. "How about these, Wolf? I like these." He said and held them up so the other could see.

The redhead put down a clipboard with papers and looked skeptic at first and turned to Ian. "Is the steel strong?"

"Strong and heavy; it supposed to be able to go through an armor shield if enough strength is put in the throw. Don't know if it's true but then again, the weapon have never disappoint me as long as I've tried it." The little guy said and shrugged. Tala turned back to the smiling raven. He admitted that it was the first time he had seen Rei smile in a while. Maybe this would put the raven at ease.

"Ian, we make an order on those. Make them sharp and ready for work."

"Understood."

"What… sharp? No, I like them just the way they are." Rei quickly protested.

"They are not doing any good with numb edges. You need them sharp to do seriously damage." Wolf answered.

"I don't want to do seriously damage. I just want to protect myself."

"Rei!" Tala and the raven were met in a stare contest. Normally Rei would have backed down but he felt really strongly about this. It was quite shocking that he dared to stand up against the wolf, he knew that. Therefore it was even more shocking when the redhead broke the contest and sighed in frustration, making Rei's golden eyes to widen.

"Fine, do what you want." Tala said and turned away from him. Ian gave him a thumb up, clearly impressed at his victory.

"I don't give a damn. It is Kai you will have to explain to later." Tala said and leaned on the wall.

Rei didn't think it would be a problem. He doubted that Kai would care about this little detail. At least he hoped that was the case.

"The order is ready in a second." Ian said and they helped him carry it to the van. Tala opened the side door and put the boxes on the floor of the van. "Ah right, Ian. I need a new blade." The redhead said as he closed the door shut. Rei looked between them as he was going to open his door to the passenger seat. He didn't know that Tala carried a knife.

"What happen to your old one?"

"It was lost. And it doesn't seem like I'm getting it back any time soon."

"That doesn't sound like you. Are you getting rusty?"

"No, it was Falcon's fault." The redhead muttered.

"Well, I don't have anything cut ready, but you can come back…"

"It's alright, I can cut it myself if you have a piece of metal over."

"Alright."

Rei shook his head a little; he wasn't even going to ask.

* * *

"Tala doesn't Ian have any family members?"

The Russian glanced at the raven from the driver's seat. Rei was sitting with his feet up on the dash board restlessly while looking out through the side window. "I mean… He seemed so young." He added.

The redhead sighed quietly. "I don't know Rei. I think he mentioned a little sister once, but we don't really talk about that stuff."

"Why?"

"Because it's not relevant. It doesn't matter where we come from. We are doing business and we can trust him, that's enough to know."

"I got the impression that you were friends. Don't you like him? It seemed like you had a better relation than just business. Aren't you curious to know more about him?"

"You are the only curious person here Rei."

Rei made an annoyed face. It was normal to him to be a little curious from time to time. Especially since this was so new and all.

"I can tell you this. If Ian works in this kind of hell then you can assume that he is not coming from a happy background. Even though it's something we have in common, it doesn't particular makes us closer." Tala stated and shifted gear.

"So you're saying that there is no need to have someone close to you. You don't care about anyone at all? You don't have people to call friends?"

"And I don't have _need_ to have friends. Because I'm working twenty seven hours a day and don't live a real life. Friends are for the living Rei. I don't concern myself with that shit. This group is the people I can rely on and that is good enough for me."

"This group… as in me too?" Rei asked and dared to give the driver a little teasing smile.

Tala looked back with a little smirk of his own. "Maybe… you are getting there. If you get stronger that is."

"Urgh! I know, I'm working on it!" The raven groaned as the comment stung his confidence. "It's not easy; you must have been a beginner once too right? You should know how it is."

"I do. It's about pushing yourself; all the time reminding yourself that it's about life or death. I started very early though."

"Really, how early?"

"Nice try Rei."

Rei leaned back and sighed. No matter how good he thought some conversations with Tala were going, the redhead would never tell anything personal about himself."

* * *

Bryan had met them on the yard to help unload the boxes when they came back. Apparently he had finished off his mission early. There were no sign of a grudge between the Wolf and the Falcon. Something Rei thought was unbelievable since just this morning they had tried to smash each other's faces in. The raven had excused himself rather quickly since he didn't want to get in the way.

It was kind of sad he thought as he walked up the stairs to his kitchen/bedroom. The long days here together with the guys felt like weeks that had flown by. He had hardly spent any time alone and thought that he should have started to get to know them better, that they should grow on him and that he would grow on them. But he still didn't feel a bit closer to any of them. Bryan and he got worse connection every encounter. Probably because the Falcon seemed to hate his guts and think of him as weak. Rei admitted that even though he had respect for the Russian, he wasn't very fond of him. Tala and he would seem closer, he had managed to get the redhead to talk a little more but it was not because the Russian like him. No, Tala probably didn't like him more than the others; he was just better in hiding it. If the redhead didn't have his orders to train him, then he doubtfully would spend time with him at all. Only that was a sad thought. And then it was the leader…

Rei entered the kitchen and immediately felt how tired he was. He stretched his arms while yawning a little and then felt a slight sting. He looked at his elbow again. His movement had made the wound reopen and he sighed at his stupidity. It wasn't a deep scratch, and there were no sign of glass in the skin either but he thought he should at least wrap it for the night.  
The Wolf had given him a few bandages for future incidents and he felt annoyed that he had to start using them already. He sat down cross legged on his sofa and started. He closed his eyes with a sour expression as he cleaned the wound with a piece of cotton. He took his time with it and then started to wrap it carefully. The hardest thing was to tie the knot with two fingers.

"Damnit!" He muttered as the fabric slipped out of his hold a third time. It was then he suddenly felt a cold aura making him look up at the doorway. Kai was standing there, looking at him with a serious expression. In the air around him were traces of smoke from the cigarette between his fingers as he was leaning on the door frame.

"Hi," the raven found himself saying. It was strange. Yet again he couldn't bring himself to look down. He had seen the leader just a few hours ago, and yet; looking at him now. It seemed like he was looking at him for the first time. Kai's eyes fell on his wound, making Rei get slightly embarrassed. "It's nothing, a little cut from Ian's workshop." He explained quickly.

"Hn."

Rei tried once again to tie it, but failed and he jumped slightly when Kai's fingers joined his and began to tie it. He hadn't even seen Kai move. The small cigarette end resting between his lips as he fingers were working the bandage. The raven wrinkled his nose to the strong scent from the smoke, but he didn't comment on it this time. In the end, the Phoenix tied it perfectly and looked up at him. "Thanks." Rei said.

"Be more careful. We can't afford any injuries."

Rei looked up at him. Had Kai actually said that to him? We, we as in team?

"So what did you find at Ian's?"

And now he was starting a conversation with him? They hadn't talked since the night on the balcony…  
But screw that, he wasn't going to lose this opportunity.

"Twin Dragoons." He answered excitedly but carefully at the same time.

"Sai? I see…" The leader said and sat down on the edge of the sofa. "Make sure you get used to them quickly. Your fingers will hurt at the beginning so you have to get past that level as soon as possible."

"Ok."

Kai let a puff of smoke leave his lips. "Can I ask why you chose them?"

Rei shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I guess I like that I can use them for defense, you know. And maybe one day… even more."

"Don't let yourself be limited to defense. Always aim higher, so you don't settle on something less than you are."

Rei nodded slowly and looked at his tied bandage. That Kai actually hinted that he could become good in this brought him to a very excited state of mind. Suddenly he had this urge to train.

"To be honest, I first thought you choose them to piss me off." Kai said and killed his cigarette under his green combat-boot.

"Huh?" Rei looked up at him in surprise. "Why do you say that?"

"Ian didn't tell you? Sai has the power to break my Katanas."

"Oh, I didn't know... but don't worry, I won't…"

"Take advantage of that right? I didn't expect you too." The Russian said making the raven a bit taken back. Kai got up from his seat and Rei watched his retreating back. There it was again, that condescending tone that hinted to him that the leader still saw him like a stupid kid. The feeling took the best of him and he found himself glaring at the leader. "Are you saying that I can't?" The tone was a little harsher than intended.  
To his surprise; Kai turned around like he had been prepared for the comment and he confidently intruded on Rei's personal space, even putting his hands on the sofa, one to each side of Rei's head. He even leaned in so close that their noses almost touched. "Can you?" He whispered, his ruby eyes hinted a slight of amusement. He even formed his lips to something close to a smile. Rei held his head still, not ready to back down now.

"I don't know yet." He answered honestly. "We will just have to wait and see, don't we?" He added with a smirk of his own.

"I guess so." Kai confirmed and just like that, he was gone from the raven's personal space. Something changed in the Phoenix mood completely. He couldn't really tell why he felt it. He just did. Kai looked at him and seemed a bit taken off guard by Rei's stare. "Spencer is here." He said.

"Huh?" Rei looked around as if the cop was in the same room as them. Damn, that was scary, how did Kai know? Was that the reason he got so serious all the sudden? He would probably never find out. "It's not me he wants to talk with, otherwise he would have called." Kai added.

"Oh, ok. I'll go and check then." Rei said and got up from the sofa.

He found the blonde giant at the bottom of the stairs. He was speaking with Tala as they noticed his presence. "Hi Rei! As I just said to Tala, you are really a sight for sore eyes!" The cop said.

"You obviously has problem at work then." Tala commented as he was leaning on the wall with crossed arms.

"It could have been better days."

Rei picked up a hint that the blonde held the answer short for some reason. "So Rei, how have you been? I've been thinking of you."

"Hi, Spencer, good to see you." The raven smiled as he got a steady handshake. His whole hand almost disappeared in Spencer's firm one, making him suddenly remember the day how easily the cop had thrown him inside that car at the airport.

"Yeah, good to see you too. I'm glad you're still in one piece. I guess I can thank my little buddy for that, right Tal?" The blonde laughed and put his arm around Tala's shoulder. The redhead however quickly pushed the arm away with a mutter. "Oh, please…" After that he left them there and walked up the stairs.

"That's great pal! Keep working on that language!"

"Fuck you." Was called from above the staircase but there were no real tone behind it. Rei shook his head with a smile. Spencer could really be unafraid around them. The cop turned back to him with a big grin. "I have actually seen him laugh. Can you believe it?"

"Not really." The raven answered.

"I have something for you. I found it in my basement. It's kind of worn out but I think you will find it useful." Spencer said to change the subject. Rei looked at the old boxing sack by the door. "Wow thank you! It's great!"

"Good, then it's yours"

"This will be of great help Spencer. Now maybe the others won't get disappointed in my training."

"They shouldn't be, they were the same as you once or didn't they tell you."

"No, not really. Tala mentioned something about it earlier but..." The raven muttered as he recalled the conversation in the van.

"What?" Spencer outburst, his smile completely gone. "They still haven't open up to you?"

Rei felt himself freeze up, he had said too much. "But you know, I don't really think it's any of my business… everyone has their privacy…" He said quickly, trying to save the situation. But even he heard how weak his voice sounded.

"Uh, uh. This stops right now."

The cop started to walk towards the stairs with firm steps, making Rei completely panic. "Spencer, don't!" He called out but got no response. "Stop! It still too early." He yelled as he caught up with the blonde. "Spencer, let it go!" Not even his third plea helped so before he knew it, he grabbed on to the cops waist and tried to stop his movement. It couldn't have been a more failed task. Even with his full bodyweight hanging, the only result was him being dragged the rest of the way. "Don't do this! Stop! Halt! Please! Spencer they don't want to tell!"

"They have to tell. I wanted to give them time, but my patience with them is wearing thin." Spencer said and entered the kitchen with the raven still hanging around his waist. "You three! Explain yourself, apologize even!"

Rei winced at the statement Spencer used and he barely dared to look up. The first thing he met was Kai's eyes and he let go of Spencer so suddenly that it ended with him on the floor with a thud. Now that fighting Spencer hadn't worked Rei felt a strong feel of flight wash over him. But Spencer's mere aura kept him in place.

"What are you on about?" Bryan said. He was sitting in the window, eating a burger. Kai and Tala was standing by the table.

"I think you heard me perfectly clear."

Rei wanted to bang his forehead in the floor by the authority tone Spencer was using. This would not end well.

"Yeah, the thing is; you are not making sense." The Falcon replied, taking another bite of his burger.

_Choke on it, Falcon! Choke! So I don't have to face the consequences for this…_ Rei's mind screamed.

"How come you haven't told Rei about your past?"

Rei held back a big groan, because that would have been the only thing that would have been heard. It was like the air vanished. A big uncomfortable tension lay over the room. Any minute it could all explode.

"As I recall, I told you the moment he started his training, you would have to make him feel welcomed and tell him about yourselves. Do you remember?"

"Yes." All three shadows answered calmly.

"Well, what happened?!"

"We rejected the idea." Bryan said and the other's nodded in agreement.

Spencer stomped the floor and Rei instantly skipped to the side as he had currently lying quite close to Spencer's feet.

"You can't do that." The cop objected firmly.

"We already have."

"Sit down Rei."

"Wha-?... I'm already sitting, or more correctly; lying on the floor. How can I sit down then?" The raven said with a joking tone, not being able to stop the thought from escaping from his mouth, but then quickly continued before Spencer could comment on it. "Spencer, c'mon now. We don't have to…"

"Typical that stupid brat, he went to his new daddy and ratted us out." Bryan muttered making Rei send a glare at his direction. "You should get your facts right, I didn't…"

"No he didn't tell me. He is either too nice or too stupid… the thing is…"

Rei rolled his eyes. It didn't matter which side he was on, he still got the title 'stupid'.

"…that's not right." Spencer finished.

"I can't believe he is giving us the right and wrong speech." Tala muttered before he and Bryan turned to Kai for aid. Spencer and Kai were stuck in a glaring contest, similar to the one they had on the yard when Rei first joined them. "We have to be fair Kai."

"Why?" Bryan cut in. "We don't owe him anything. To be fair, as you called it, he owes us."

"I agree Falcon. But to repay you, Rei needs to trust you. And in the living world, he learns to trust you when he gets to know you."

"Didn't see that one coming did you?" Tala whispered to him, making Falcon growl in frustration.

"I said, sit down Rei."

"Again, I'm not… never mind." Rei sighed, stood up to walk over to his sleeping spot and placed himself there instead. A black hood was lying there from the day before, so he picked it up and hugged it like a pillow as he sat down crossed legged. Anything to get some kind of stability in the tense situation.

"This is ridiculous." Tala objected again.

"We ain't doing it." Bryan agreed.

"Yes you are." Spencer persisted.

"Kai, say something!" The Falcon growled at the leader. Phoenix still said nothing; he seemed to be in deep thought again.

"I swear Kai; I will shut off my phone for weeks." Spencer threatened.

Rei wasn't sure he wanted Kai's reaction to the threat. The Russian looked so stable, yet so incalculable. At last he simply turned his back towards the group making all of them, except of Spencer get shocking expressions. "Are you serious!?" Tala asked the leader who refused to turn around.

"Yes he is." Spencer said and sat down next to Rei in the sofa.

"You seem to think you can decide everything here!" The redhead growled. "Even Rei didn't think this was a good idea. Why not let him decide?"

"Fine, Rei. Do you want to know more about your comrades? To learn more about their goal and why we do the things we do?"

Rei bit himself in the lip. This was the moment he had waited for. He had been so frustrated about not knowing anything about this place or the guys. Yet… it felt so sad that the trio was so unwilling to share.

"Of course I want to know more about you guys." He said, feeling all eyes on him. "I just don't want you to fight over it like this."

"Didn't see that one coming, did you?" Bryan whispered back, making the Wolf elbow him in the gut.

"Believe me Rei, they are too stubborn to admit it, but they need to talk about it as well."

"Oh, here we go…" Tala and Bryan groaned and moved around in the room restlessly. Obviously they had heard this speech before.

"You can't just forget that it happened. Living or not, you need to remember the feelings you once had. You still have to be a small part human."

This was more information Rei had received than all the time combine at this place. He was intrigued by the guys' bond. Spencer used hard tactics but it was most likely the only way that worked against the group. Recalling to the conversation in the car, Tala probably didn't know he had a friend who cared in Spencer. The cop seemed to care about them very much. He wasn't particular fond in taking sides, but in this case, Spencer seemed to know what he was taking about.

"We are starting now, who is going to tell first?"

The room fell into complete silence and Spencer was the only one who smiled. As nobody made an effort to start he whispered at Rei. "Pay attention. They know that they just lost."

The three shadows looked at each other for any chance of getting out of it but none of them had any idea that didn't involve violence. If somebody was standing outside they would have thought the place was empty. Rei waited patiently, he understood that this would not be easy for them. They probably needed a moment to collect their thoughts.

"We are waiting Kai." Spencer said almost gently.

The leader didn't move an inch or showed any sign that he had heard the blonde. For a moment Rei couldn't help but to think the Russian looked like a kid who was pissed off because he just got yelled at.

"Bryan?" Spencer said and looked at the other. He used a little more firm tone there so the Russian would be force to start talk but it didn't work. Getting more and more frustration he jumped to the last hope.

"Tala! I swear I'll..."

"Alright, already!" The redhead hissed and pulled out a chair violently. Bryan and Kai moved aside, none of them wanted to get involved.

The redhead sat down and crossed his leg over the other. "I need a smoke." He said.

Bryan dug out a packet from his pocket and handed it to him. After taking one out, It took a while to get it lit and Rei noticed that the Russian's hands was shaking slightly, he didn't know if it was from anger or something else but he suddenly felt very bad about it.

Tala took a deep breath and then let the smoke leave his lips in a deep sigh. "So… What do you want to know?" He asked in a calmer tone than expected as he leaned back and looked at them with a tone cold expression.

"No no, you tell us with your own words. And I make sure you don't leave anything out."

"What would I do without you, Spencer?"

"I can think of many things." Bryan muttered from the window. Kai kept silent and sat down on the bench that was in the kitchen area.

"Well, Rei… just like you, I also came to New York from my Country. I was 13 years old…"

_.  
_

_._

_(Flashback)  
_

"_My family's life was not an easy dance. We had to flee Russia because my father was falsely accused of assisting on a murder on some important person in the Russian mafia… The guilty person did not want to step forward for his defense but to make up for my fathers smeared name he gave him a contact here in New York who could take us in. We were promised a fresh start. _

_Although, He didn't tell us more about it and after a handshake between the man and my father we were hiding between the cars in the garage on a ship heading towards the big apple. Leaving everything we knew behind. _

_I remember I was excited and scared at the same time as I was sitting in my mother's lap with a blanket around us to keep warm. Even at thirteen years of age, my mom kept a close eye on me. I didn't mind, I was a very intensive kid with a small form. _

_My big brother was arguing with my father about his next plans. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time. All I was thinking was that there were no windows to look out at the new city. _

_We arrived in the middle of the night in January. After getting of the ship in secret we instantly met up with a group of strangers, claiming to be our escort. Farther was the only one who could talk with them in the English language, but I remember him turning to mother who held me close, saying it was alright. _

_Later that night, we were placed in a little one room apartment by the harbor. Dad never explained what was happening the night we arrived, or the night after that or the next. A tension began to grow heavy around my family and I remember my mother was crying herself asleep every night when father wasn't home. One day in the beginning of February, she wasn't even wearing her wedding ring anymore and the tension in our new home was getting worse. Father tried to keep everything in control so his solution was that we all should start working. _

_Through his contact he got me and my brother a job. To hand out newspapers in the city, the only rule was that we couldn't talk with anyone. I didn't know English anyway and couldn't care less about the magazine I was handing out. But as we were standing on the sidewalk for hours at the time, I started to notice that my brother was asking English questions sometimes when he got the chance. He didn't talk to me about his thoughts or feelings and I wasn't really concerned about him, my life was pretty uncomplicated because the only thing I was mad at my father about was that he hadn't been able to get me into a school. Damn, I was so naïve." _

Rei looked at the redhead as he listened intensively at the story. It wasn't odd that Tala was showing signs that he missed the living life if he had a family once. Those ice blue eyes were empty as the cigarette was slowly burning up between his fingers.

Rei stayed silent as the story continued;

"_One evening still in February, father came home in a thrilled mood. Only that was surprising because it didn't happen very often. He said to mother while dancing with her that our luck had turned and we were going to be busy and rich people. Me and my brother sat by the dinner table and I was laughing at their silly dance. It was the first time in a while that mom was laughing. My brother didn't comment on it. And even if he had; I wouldn't have noticed. I was just glad that my family was happy and that we were starting to have a little stability in our family again. Like we had before the incident in Russia. _

_Today, I consider myself lucky that I felt that, because that night; my old life ended." _

_._

_The sound of car door close shut was heard and men dressed all in black surrounded the little apartment and looked inside the windows before signaling to each other. The man closest to the door kicked it in and the other followed. _

_The woman in the bed with her husband screamed and woke up the rest of the family. The father got up and yelled as he put up his hands in surrender at the sight of the heavy shotguns. _

"_We are Russian's, Russians! He said you had use for us!" He screamed and yelled at his wife in Russian that she would sit still. The two children, placed on the sofa didn't dare to move an inch as the guns was pointed at them. _

"_He had. But not anymore." Was said in English and the husband got a single shot in the head. All the family members screamed as the dead body fell to the floor and they were grabbed and dragged roughly towards the door. The air outside was cold with so little clothes on and the wind was strong since they were near the ocean. The younger boy cried as rough hands were gripping his forearms so hard, making him bruise. The older brother had a man holding him in a grip by the hair while holding a gun against his cheek. The group where talking in English to each other, discussing about something. The little boy managed to turn around and see through the open doorway his dead father lying on the floor inside the apartment and it hit him. He never knew what his dad had been dealing with during their short stay. The incident that had started in Russia had come to this. It had all been for nothing. He cried, as the men started to fill the apartment floor and the dead body with gasoline and a simple match handled the rest. As the apartment building went up in flames, the wife took her chance.  
Without warning, she suddenly managed to get free and kick the man who held her older son. The brother didn't waste any time in giving the man that held his little brother a throat punch, making him go down too. The mother clawed at the eyes of the man since she was not strong enough to handle him otherwise and she screamed for her kids to run. The younger brother was swiftly thrown over his brother's shoulder and they were off. They could only hear their mothers last cry as she was executed for her stunt, her last words was her children's names. _

_The younger of the two brothers was crying for his mother as his big brother kept running until they reached the water as a dead end. The older boy quickly looked around and then approached the house that blocked their way. The wall was filled with wooden boxes._

_#Brother no!# The redhead cried in Russian as he was placed in between two rows, covered by the shadows. #Are you crazy, don't go!# _

_#Listen Tala, the fire they started will get the authorities here. We just need to hold on…#_

_An angry voice from the background yelled at them, already found their location. _

_#Stay there.# The older answered and moved from his sight. He wanted to go with him, but his legs were shaking too much for him to stand up. _

"_Please, we are just kids! Don't do this!" The boy heard his bother say clearly in the other language, even if he didn't understand what it meant at all, and then he heard a cry of pain and the older hit the ground. The men were still screaming in English. The screams his brother started to make shocked the redhead and he had to bite his hand so hard it bled to keep himself from screaming out for his only family member._

_Suddenly the boxes started to be removed roughly one after one and the remaining boy curled up as his hiding spot was reviled. The man looked coldly at the frightened kid and spoke to him in an angry tone despite that the child couldn't understand a word. The boy tried to answer shakily in broken Russian sentences but that only made the man angrier. With a grip in his red hair the boy was dragged out from his hiding spot. He quickly spotted his big brother who was being tied up with his hands behind his back and he cried out to him in pure panic. His brother was bleeding from his shoulder and because of the screaming the two brothers eyes met, one pair big and scared and the other calm and soothing. _

_Tala didn't understand his brother words to the men but he felt how things was going for the worse when they were dragged towards the edge of the harbor. Black waves were big and forceful under the concrete bridge and the youngest boy was crying his eyes out. He looked at his brother who was trying to get his attention but a sudden single shot in his head stopped his voice. The little brother blinked as some of the blood splashed into his face and he just watched as the man simply kicked his brother's dead body over the edge and he fell into the dark water with a splash. _

_The younger was quickly tied the same way as his brother had been and he knew the same fate waited. And he let it happen. The gun pointed at his forehead but the black weapon only made a click noise. The man was growling and shook the gun but no bullet would leave it. _

_The other man screamed something and the boy received a kick in the face and then another and another. His little body was kicked all over as the men was yelling at each other. His lip broke, his nose was bleeding and after what felt like the thousandth kick; his arm made a cracking sound causing him to finally cry out. He cried until he had hard time breathing and his body was hurting all over and in the end he emptied his stomach on the spot he lay on. To weak and numb from pain he didn't even notice when the man tied his feet together and he was being pushed towards the edge. But he could hear the sound of the waves coming closer. He knew he would join his brother soon… _

_A shot rang out and with a scream the man who was pushing the boy fell over him with a vault and into the water. The other man looked around and screamed at the intruders. The boy tiredly opened one of his eyes and looked at two shadows that were dressed in two black capes. Only a silver gun was shining in the moonlight and another shot was fired. The man fell to his knees and then to the ground unmoving. _

"_The last thing I remembered before everything went black was two serious faces that were hovering over me." _

_End of flashback._

Rei's eyes were big and he was unconsciously hugging himself. He looked at Spencer who was inspecting Tala's expression. The redhead didn't seem very affected by the memory now. Somehow he had managed to shut of his emotions during the story. He took one last bit of his cigarette and the put it out under his shoe. "Bryan, Kai, and Spencer arranged for my death. We have been together ever since. Seven years."

Bryan looked at him for the first time since he started the story. "Have it been that long? I can't believe that I have put up with you for that long."

"That's my line."

"Thank you Tala." Both the Russian's turned to the raven who looked at him with a gentle smile. "I appreciate that you told me this."

Spencer smiled at the redhead's expression. He didn't know how to handle those comments. With a snort he got up from his seat and dragged his comrade from the window and shoved him towards the chair. "Your turn to be grilled."

Bryan almost lost his balance but used the chair as support. At first he didn't seem like he was going to tell them shit, but suddenly his expression change to an amused one. He sat down with the chair back against his stomach and leaned on it as he lit a cigarette too. "Ok. Time for a Falcon story."

**TBC**

**Next Chapter "A Falcon Story."**


End file.
